Even the Stars Grow Older
by thefanshipdarkhorse
Summary: Things haven't changed at all, not really. At least, not until one summer road trip to one final Comuket shows the potential to change everything. Mainly Chinatsu/Akari and Himawari/Sakurako, with a side of Kyouko/Ayano and whatever else ends up happening :P
1. Ready Set

**This is basically a grown-up story, with all the typical pairings- bear with me, it will be romance/humor! Please review if you liked!**

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**Even the Stars Grow Older  
**

**Prologue: Ready, Set**

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To say that they had changed with age would be…well, a vast overstatement, at best, and an outright lie at its worst.

They had grown, yes—certainly physically, and in a very (very) literal sense of the word, emotionally as well. Literal in the most basic sense possible, because though it would be impossible to grow up without growing inside as well, they certainly were taking their time. To outsiders, of course, they were very different from the overeager middle school girls they all once were, but around each other, it was almost as if nothing had changed at all.

Almost.

Kyouko had grown taller than the rest of the upperclassmen, as had Himawari amongst the underclassmen (though not as much so, and with significantly more grace, as her curves had grown with her, much to Sakurako's despair and misplaced hatred), while Akari and Chinatsu had grown more out than up, the latter slightly more so than the former. The younger pair of friends had also changed their hairstyles—Chinatsu (the veritable queen of their _very_ co-ed high school) now wore her pink locks in a side ponytail, while Akari's was looking more and more like her sister's every day as she grew it out.

Save for those differences, however, none of them had changed in a way that would make strangers gawk at their previous yearbook photos. They'd grown up, but they hadn't changed—not really.

Except, there were…_things_…here and there; things that hadn't been there before.

Like the way Sakurako and Himawari's arguing had escalated (which everybody had just assumed would stop once one of them finally admitted their feelings, except apparently that hadn't happened…), but so had the longing, sideways glances when they were sure the other wasn't looking, and the jealous huffing from both parties despite their fervent claims of indifference when the other started getting too close to anybody else.

Or like the way Akari's gaze sometimes accidentally settled on her vivacious and, quite frankly, slightly catty best friend and lingered there for just a second too long- just long enough to be meaningful, just short enough that even Akari didn't notice it (just yet). And like the way Chinatsu had mellowed just slightly and, though she kept her precious Yui-senpai in a very special place in her heart, was now the focus of many a hormonal teenage boys' fantasy, but always, for some reason unknown even to herself, _always_ put her nondescript but steadfast best friend first in the end.

Ayano (who had ascended to the Student Council President throne not once, but twice, now that graduation for her and Chitose and all of their group, really, was just barely more than a year away) had gradually progressed through all the various phases of tsunderedom until now, the summer before her senior year of high school, she was all but dropping bread-crumbs for Toshino Kyouko (!) to find. Kyouko herself, while just as lazy as ever, seemed to be developing less and less futile schoolgirl crushes and a deepening interest in anything and everything to do with teasing Ayano (because Chinatsu was hardly any fun at all anymore now that she had so many boys to focus on, so many potential romances outside of her darling Yui-senpai) until the poor girl was a stuttering wreck.

But the outside, nothing much had changed and really, these other changes had happened so gradually that nobody had really noticed at all, as is the way with growing up. But ignorance rarely lasts forever, and though none of the girls could possibly have predicted it, life was about to set in motion a chain of events beginning with one fateful summer that would, for the first time, force them all to confront the feelings that had seemed so trivial back at Nanamori Middle School.

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**OKAY. So there's that—don't worry, I know it sounds dramatic but so do all my prologues! It'll probably turn out to be a romance/humor story, and make this prologue seem utterly pointless because that's just how my stories usually work out. The story will focus for the most part on the pairings implied in this chapter—I'm not much good at writing pairings that I don't really ship, sorry about that. Also, I know this chapter was kind of a bore—bear with me, I do better with a less serious writing style (this is just the prologue writing style :P).**

**Please review if you liked, and let me know if I should continue! I'm trying to get back into writing fanfiction like I once was, so any reviews would be great! They serve as great motivation, you have no idea…anyway, I hope you enjoyed!**

**A/N: There's a freaking SPIDER crawling around somewhere, I lost sight of it and now I can't touch my feet to the floor and I keep feeling something on my legs even though there's nothing there...somebody help D:**


	2. This Summer and What is This?

**Quick update: you guys may notice that I've heavily edited the prologue, mainly in that I took out the actual interactions in favor of just focusing on the more uninvolved third-person omniscient perspective. After thinking it over, and a review from a helpful reader, I realized that even for my typical style, the prologue seemed a little haphazard. So I just took out what didn't match, and as nothing happened in the prologue anyway, it was fairly easy to just edit it out. **

**A big shout-out to everyone who reviewed- thank you so much for encouraging me to continue! Sorry the updates won't be every day or so- I'm in a vet tech program that requires me to go to school pretty much every day, and requires online homework, etc. so I won't be able to write as fast as I would like, but I'm planning to have updates every weekend! And they may be sooner than that on occasions- I more or less write when I get inspired/motivated (and your reviews really are motivating, guys!). So yeah. Enjoy!**

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**Even the Stars Grow Older  
**

**One: This Summer and What is This?**

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It wasn't so much that Akari minded being overlooked—she'd long-since gotten used to _that_, and her sister was always more than supportive. What really bothered her was what being overlooked entailed in regards to the other aspects of her life, particularly romance (or, more accurately, the lack thereof), among other things.

And it wasn't as if Akari were some horny teenager looking for a quick one-night-stand—if anything, the fact that she was still a virgin even in her late high school years kept the raging hormones more-or-less at bay. After all, how can you miss something when you don't know what you're missing? Not that Kyouko didn't frequently attempt to fill her in on just that multiple times—it's just that she always got smacked by Yui or head-butted (usually in the stomach) by Chinatsu, both of whom seemed to believe that Akari was still just as naïve as she had been as a middle-schooler, before she actually got around to saying anything even halfway useful. Not that Akari particularly wanted to learn _anything _of real life importance from Kyouko—there was just too big a chance that Kyouko's 'advice' could cause Akari embarrassment down the line.

Still, Akari did wonder, sometimes—did feel a twinge, an almost nostalgic tug, right at the pit of her stomach whenever she looked at couples holding hands, whispering in each other's ears… It was even getting to the point that she was becoming envious of Himawari and Sakurako, because even if they couldn't see their love for each other (and by this point, Akari was starting to doubt that Himawari, at the very least, wasn't maybe just pretending to be oblivious out of stubbornness or something similar), everybody else could. Sometimes Akari wondered how it must feel to have somebody else—somebody to laugh with, somebody who just _understood _her, who would protect her, who would notice when she frowned, even when everybody else failed to notice anything was wrong.

She rarely dwelt on thoughts like that, though—it wasn't in her nature. She was happy as she was, and felt lucky to have such close friends, knowing that the majority of people didn't even have _those _bonds.

Still, sometimes she _did _wonder.

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"Akari-chan!" The voice rang clearly through the crowded hallway, causing Akari to pause and turn in her tracks. Taking a few steps before noticing that her best friend had stopped, Chinatsu stopped and was in the process of turning around as well when the same voice cried, "China-chaa~"

"Don't call me that," she stated bluntly as an overeager Kyouko lurched to a stop right in front of the two girls, having almost bulldozed Akari in her haste. "What do you want, anyway?" the pinkette continued, raising one eyebrow and folding her arms over her chest.

Akari laughed nervously—while Kyouko had certainly mellowed (at least a tiny bit) since middle school, she was still an avid Mirakurun fangirl and, as such, a constant annoyance to Chinatsu, even more so now that Yui had a car, giving them much more freedom to go to different events. Needless to say, the relationship between the two hadn't really improved since middle school, although it hadn't really crumbled either. Chinatsu, at the very least, seemed to accept that Kyouko was kind of the glue that held them all together, even after all this time.

Completely unfazed (as per usual) by Chinatsu's attitude, Kyouko straightened, holding out what appeared to be some sort of flyer for a…

"Another Comuket?!" Chinatsu cried in disbelief. "No way! Every year you drag me to that and dress me up as Mirakurun—I'm not even the right age anymore!"

Kyouko merely raised her free hand to her mouth, doing a spot-on impression of the stereotypical 'oujo-sama chuckle'. "Ho, ho, ho—how naïve you are, Chinatsu-chan! Age is the last thing anybody pays attention to at Comuket~! Even older, you meet more of the qualifications to cosplay Mirakurun than anybody else! I've seen men in their forties cosplaying her!"

Akari paled at this because, thanks to Kyouko's enthusiasm and wide variety of online friends, so had she. The picture Kyouko had insisted on taking to 'commemorate the occasion' was still hanging over the blonde's bed—in it, a blue-faced, dead-eyed Akari, in full Mirakurun costume herself (this had been during Chinatsu's brief rebellious stage, her reasoning being that if she ignored Yui and made herself scarce, the older girl was sure to realize how much she needed Chinatsu—as a result, Akari was forced to become Kyouko's cosplay pet), was being squeezed to the side of her very sweaty, very _hairy _doppelgänger.

The overall effect was one of absolute horror, similar to what they'd come to expect from Chinatsu's…art.

"-ri-chan?"

"Akari-chan!"

Akari started, magenta eyes clearing only to find themselves mere inches from sharp blue. "Akari-chan, are you alright?" Chinatsu asked, her brow furrowing. Upon further inspection, the pinkette appeared to be keeping a grabby Kyouko at bay with one hand firmly clamped over the blonde's face, fingers digging into the skin there. For a moment, Akari felt sympathy pains for Kyouko, as she knew better than anyone that despite her pretty appearance, Chinatsu was not gentle. At all.

But then all at once, she lost her ability to even breathe, let alone worry over the safety of others. Because Chinatsu was really very, very close now, and Akari's head was swimming in the faint, sweet scent of her best friend's perfume.

_What was it…? She showed me…was it sugar cookie? Or maybe lemon crème…yes, definitely lemon crème…and wait, when did Chinatsu grow taller than me?_

Panicking, Akari jumped away from the pinkette, whose concerned face had been mere centimeters from her own. In response, a foreign expression appeared on the other girl's face—at first, shock, and then, for half a second, a flash of what Akari could have sworn was _hurt_. She hadn't seen Chinatsu looking like that since the time the latter had convinced herself that Yui had found a boyfriend back in their last year of middle school, when the girls had to temporarily separate due to Yui and Kyouko entering high school.

Hastily trying to rectify the situation, Akari stammered, "Sorry, I was just thinking of that time Kyouko-chan dressed me up as Mirakurun, and I freaked out a little bit, ehehe…"

Chinatsu's eyes widened in recognition, and then darkened- clearly, she remembered as well. Apparently satisfied, the pinkette whirled back around, finally releasing Kyouko, who made a show of gasping for breath as Yui finally caught up to their little group. The conversation went on as they exited the building toward the parking lot, and for once Akari was grateful for her lack of presence as she was left alone to her thoughts.

What _was _that? It wasn't as though Chinatsu had never been that close to her before—Akari still remembered the time Yui and Kyouko had been away and Chinatsu had wanted to practice kissing, though her memories of that particular day were hazy at best. Still, she remembered feeling distinctly different that time—she'd been reluctant, scared, even, of losing her first kiss to Chinatsu. If anything, shouldn't her instincts have told her to run this time? Instead, it almost felt like they'd been drawing her closer.

Akari shook her head, hard. Chinatsu still had feelings for Yui, even if they were less pronounced, and even if that weren't the case, the pinkette was practically a goddess among the male population of their school. Even if Akari _had_, as just another part of the universe's perpetual joke on her, developed feelings for Chinatsu (which she never would, because Chinatsu wasn't her type at all, best friend or otherwise. Not that Akari knew what her type was, just that it couldn't possibly be her best friend, right?) there would be absolutely no sense in even acknowledging them, because what could a plain, boring girl like Akari ever do to be attractive to the most highly sought after girl in their school, even if they were best friends?

Not that it mattered at all, of course, because today had clearly been some sort of freak accident, Akari's reaction probably stemming from her thoughts on romance. Of course, she'd feel that way about anyone who got so close right after her thoughts had strayed to that topic, right?

Having placated herself, Akari returned her attention to the topic at hand. Apparently, the flyer Kyouko had been waving in front of their faces was an advertisement for Comuket, just as Chinatsu had predicted. The blonde had seen it and decided it would make the perfect trip to commemorate their last real summer together as a group, as she and Yui would return to school as seniors and, once they'd graduated, would be busy with applying to schools and so on.

"We've got to invite Himawari-chan and Sakurako-chan as well," Kyouko was saying, almost bouncing with excitement. "Himawari-chan makes a great Rivalun!"

"If she even agrees to do it," Yui noted, deadpan as usual in regards to Kyouko's scheming. "At least you won't be bullying Sugiura-san into it again."

Kyouko puffed out her cheeks. "I never bullied her into anything! And I forgot about Ayano-chan!" she exclaimed as Yui did a face-palm. "True, Himawari-chan's hair color is best, but there's always wigs, and Ayano has the perfect moe personality for it…"

Chinatsu rolled her eyes, slowing her pace so that she fell behind the two older girls and into step with Akari. "Well, if nothing else, it's always entertaining to have them along. Who needs cable when you've got real, quality husband-wife comedy for free?"

"Chinatsu-chan!" Akari chastised, more out of habit than anything else. Glancing at the red-head out of the corner of her eye, Chinatsu grinned and shot her a mischievous wink.

"Don't pretend you're not entertained by it as well, Akari-chan," she replied, poking Akari's cheek, trying (rather successfully) to elicit a smile from her best friend. "Really, it's their own fault for fighting all the time when we all know what they really want to do is shove each other against the wall and—"

"Chinatsu-chan!"

The pinkette threw her head back and cackled as Akari smacked her arm.

As the pinkette had grown older, her true personality had begun to overcome the sugary façade she always put on around the older girls and strangers. Akari, of course, wasn't really surprised, as she'd been seeing this side of Chinatsu for years, and, in some strange way, actually preferred this more mischievous, more real side of her best friend as opposed to the schoolgirl with a crush that she'd pretended to be back in middle school. Sure, Chinatsu could be crass, blunt and sometimes (though rarely) downright mean, but she could also be sweet (in a real way, not the fake, sugary way she had been, like that time she had talked Akari into having that fake-date with her to help her with Yui), playful and protective, particularly of her best friend, who was still a good deal more naïve and innocent than the rest of the girls, save perhaps for the perpetually stuttering and blushing Ayano. Her art was as terrible as ever, but over the past four years or so, it had grown on Akari, and all of them, in a weird way, and had become almost comforting in that it was a part of Chinatsu, who was just a walking contradiction in and of herself.

Akari caught herself just as they finally reached the parking lot and shook her head again, hard this time. What was she doing, thinking about Chinatsu so much all of a sudden? She quickly dispelled the worry. She was probably just in a weird mood today- maybe it was just the universe's way of telling her to stop kidding herself about romance.

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**I still haven't found that damn spider…**

**ANYWAY. Thanks to everyone for reading, and please don't forget to leave a review! I hope this chapter goes over better than the last- again, the previous chapter was just written in a prologue-style. And if there's anything you want to see in this story, please let me know in your reviews as well! I'm always open to ideas!**

**This chapter obviously focused on Chinatsu and Akari, but the other pairings will come into play really soon! Please let me know what you think—Chinatsu is particularly difficult to age up, because I like the idea of making her real personality more prominent with age, but I don't want her to seem out of character. Please be gentle- I did work really hard in thinking out how she would act without going OOC.**

**ALSO: The fake-date I reference wasn't in the anime (at least not yet! Go season 3!), but it is available in manga form in scanlations online, though I forget which chapter it was. They're going on a fake-date and of course Chinatsu is going gaga over Yui and having Akari do ridiculous things to act like Chinatsu's 'Yui-senpai', but then after lunch she suggests they go shopping, because 'her time with Akari is important too'. It's really sweet :) I've also noticed as a general rule that real Chinatsu is quite sweet to Akari in general, save for her bouts of crazy. And that's the Chinatsu I'm trying to write With ought being OOC...please tell me how I did!**

**Anyway, please review and I hope you enjoyed! **


	3. TsunTsun(Dere?)

**In regards to the girls' physical descriptions, I'm too lazy to look up heights and stuff in Japan, and since this story is in English I'm guessing most of my readers would like heights comparable to people we see every day, yeah? So their heights, etc. will be based on American standards (e.g. I'm five foot four, which makes me just below average—my Sakurako is about five one, which makes her fairly short). Cup sizes (while only mentioned for descriptive purposes) are American sizes as well—I know Japanese sizes are smaller. I hope this was helpful!**

**As always, thank you so much for your supportive reviews! Please continue to let me know what you liked/your thoughts in reviews—while I will never threaten to withhold chapters or anything like that (I mean, come **_**on**_**), it really helps my motivation! You guys are the reason I'm still writing this! :)**

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**Even the Stars Grow Older  
**

**Two: TsunTsun(Dere?)**

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It was gray and silent outside, save for the peaceful sound of rain falling against the pavement. The roads were wet and relatively abandoned, and the streetlights had come on early to illuminate the clouded skies. The cold air was free of sound, save perhaps for the buzz of one particularly persistent cicada—it was a day that would have been more fit for several months earlier, in March. As it was, though, the city was cold and wet this evening, and everybody was content to stay shut up inside the warmth of their homes and discuss summer plans.

"Augh! Get your monster breasts off of me, you booby-monster!"

"S-shut up, Sakurako-baka! I can't help it that my chest is…l-larger than average…any more than you can help being flat as a washboard!"

"WHAT WAS THAT, BOOBAWARI?"

"You heard me, you loud, _inconsiderate_ little—"

Well. _Almost _everyone, then.

As per usual, Sakurako had been sprawled on top of her bluenette frienemy's bed, a manga in one hand, a bag of Doritos in the other. Himawari had leaned over her to confiscate said paraphernalia, and in the process, had accidentally pressed her breasts against the dirty-blonde's arm, and, well…suffice it to say, the situation had escalated.

"If you'd been concentrating on your homework like you're supposed to, my breasts would never have been anywhere near you to begin with," Himawari finally huffed, arms folded over her chest, her hands still full of Sakurako's 'provisions', her cheeks tinted a light pink. Her gaze was trained determinedly out the window, which was a good thing for Sakurako, as the latter had flushed well and beyond 'light pink' when she'd felt the soft pressure against her shoulder—fire-engine red might be a more appropriate description of _her_ face, as the blonde was blushing all the way to the tips of her ears.

She'd immediately jumped away from Himawari when the bluenette had committed said unforgivable offense and had scooted as far back away from her as she could, currently pressed against the wall behind Himawari's bed. Her reaction, however, was only partially out of indignation and jealousy—the majority of her outburst had stemmed from the tingles that had begun in the pit of her stomach and shot up until they hit her full in the chest like a bullet train. It confused her and, if she was being perfectly honest, _scared _her. She'd never felt like this back then, and there had been times when she'd been in the situation—there was always the accidental touch or the rare, reluctant hug (both of which she'd subsequently started fights over, but just because she was Sakurako, not because she was actually upset). Now, whenever she thought about Himawari or her stupid breasts, instead of eliciting rage, it elicited something much harder to describe—something weird and abnormal that kind of made Sakurako want to be closer to the bluenette, to hug her, to 'accidentally' fall asleep in her arms. Even just now, she'd jumped away more out of instinct than anything else—if anything, she'd kind of (maybe) not completely _hated _the feeling of the warm, heavy orbs resting against her shoulder.

Sakurako was starting to wonder if there was something seriously wrong with her. Until she could figure _that _out, the new, strange feelings just made her hate Himawari and her big, stupid breasts more than ever.

"Whatever," she finally replied haughtily, flopping back into the bed, having pitched what she dubbed to be a sufficient fit.

Himawari huffed in response and returned to her book—_Of Mice and Men_, Sakurako mouthed to herself. It must have been for the one of the bluenette's AP courses. When Himawari had first started taking said classes, there'd been hell to pay from Sakurako, who had made a point of shouting at her over not having as much time to help her with her homework; in reality, however, the blonde had just been terrified of being separated from Himawari in any way. She needn't have worried; Himawari was incredibly intelligent, as she'd known for some time, and this meant that she didn't need to put much extra effort into studying, despite the college-level courses she was taking. So Sakurako experienced no shortage of nagging, and, though she'd never admit it (not even to herself), she was happy that way.

There were a few minutes of comfortable silence. Despite their rivalry, the fact that the two girls had known each other for more than ten years now meant that they didn't have to say anything to spend time together. This wasn't to say that they were silent often—with Sakurako being Sakurako, and Himawari being unable to ignore her jibes, the peace rarely lasted more than five minutes.

"…are you going to go with Akari-chan and Chinatsu-chan and them?" Sakurako asked out of the blue, lifting her head slightly so that she could see Himawari. The latter sighed and snapped her book shut, running her fingers through the single thick, loose braid that fell over her right shoulder, tapering off just below her chest. She knew better than to even try to continue studying at this point—it would be easier to just give up now. "You know, to that Comuket thing?"

Himawari made a face to herself, remembering the contest Kyouko had set up between the student council and the amusement club back in middle school. She'd never been so embarrassed… She turned to meet Sakurako's inquisitive gaze. "I am," she said, only half paying attention as she lifted both hands, absently adjusting the thin headband keeping her bangs in place. _As long as I'm not the one doing the cosplaying. _"It seems like a fun way to spend our last free summer with our senpai."  
As if reading her thoughts, a grin that could only be described as positively sadistic appeared across Sakurako's delicate features. "I bet you just want to dress up at Rivalun again, Himawari," she teased, sitting up cross-legged and leaning towards the bluenette, who was already flushing with the memories. "'Ganbo-_samaaa~_!'"

"S-shut up, baka!" Himawari snapped, grabbing the first thing in reach (_Of Mice and Men_) and lobbing it at the cackling blonde. Sakurako, however, was already long gone, rolled onto her side and giggling madly. Himawari rolled her eyes, knowing she'd just have to wait it out. She folded her arms over her chest and glared at the blonde, waiting for her to calm down.

This proved to be a mistake, however, as she caught herself doing something she'd been catching herself doing more and more as time went on. Her eyes began to roam over Sakurako's features, from her wild dirty-blonde hair that now reached mid-back, restrained only by a clip that held it back behind her right ear, to her angelic face that disguised her true playful and self-absorbed nature. She hadn't grown much, Himawari noted absently. She was a little bit taller, but only just over five foot in comparison to Himawari's commendable five six. Despite the height difference, Sakurako still appeared fairly scrawny when compared to the bluenette, whose body had grown proportionate to her height. Though she wasn't washboard-flat anymore, Sakurako was a mere A-cup, which led to continued resentment toward Himawari, despite the fact that the bluenette's chest was not so much larger than average at this point. Once her body had a chance to catch up with her chest after puberty, Himawari was only about a C-cup or a small D—just slightly larger than average. Still, compared to Sakurako, she was positively huge; an offense of the highest caliber in the blonde's eyes.

Even not considering all that, Sakurako still looked rather young for her age. She'd lost some baby-fat, but that was about it. Her features were still young, eyes still wide and cheeks still a little plump, unlike Himawari, whose features had matured significantly, leaving her with slightly narrower eyes, longer eyelashes and plump lips. The bluenette had really made the leap from 'pretty' to 'beautiful' sometime during their freshman year, attracting the attention of her own fair-sized flock of boys alongside Chinatsu, much to Sakurako's annoyance (for more than one reason). They were always together, and that meant that Sakurako was only ever seen in comparison to the bluenette, and while it pained Himawari greatly to think it, she sometimes wondered whether Sakurako would rather they spend less time together, if only so she could finally stop comparing herself. After all these years, Himawari had come to learn that the only way she'd be able to stop Sakurako's own self-deprecating comparisons would be for them to split up completely.

Struck by a sudden, intense wave of _something_ that was tugging insistently at the pit of her stomach, Himawari stood up and crossed the room, and, in a fluid motion, pinned the still rolling Sakurako against the bedpost. She'd been intending to wrestle the manically giggling girl into submission just to shut her up, but apparently the universe had something else in mind. In a momentary lapse of judgement, hazel met amber and she stopped in her tracks, heart thudding painfully in her chest as she just stared into wide eyes that, for once, stared back at her almost submissively, as if waiting for her to do something—_anything_.

A beat, and Himawari let out a long sigh.

"…calm down, you're messing up your hair," she finally murmured, reaching around and unclipping the clip that held Sakurako's hair separate from her bangs. She tucked the wild, now mussed, blonde hair back behind her right ear and slid the clip back in, running her fingers slowly through Sakurako's long locks before releasing her.

Sakurako still seemed to be in a state of shock, just blinking up at Himawari with wide eyes. Finally, she seemed to snap out of it, shoving her hands against the bluenette's chest, though the force only sent Himawari back a few inches. "Geez, what's your problem, Boobawari?" she spat, flushing from head-to-toe. "Stop acting all weird!"

"Call me that again," Himawari snapped back, tightening her grip on Sakurako's left wrist until the girl winced. Her eyes, which had become greener with maturity, narrowed on the girl, as if daring her to continue. "Go on, do it."

"S-sorry," Sakurako squeaked. "Sorry, Himawari-sama, please let go! Itaii~"

The bluenette rolled her eyes and released Sakurako all at once, sending the girl careening back onto the bed. Himawari stood and turned her back to the blonde. "Just do your homework, Sakurako," she replied coolly, her tone masking the twinge of hurt she'd felt at Sakurako's accusation, and the room fell into silence once more.

…

…

"…breasts."

"_Die_."

…

"…are _you_ going to attend Comuket, Sakurako?"

The blonde in question gave an obnoxiously overdone laugh. "Of course I am—if I weren't there, who would keep Himawari from making an idiot of herself in her excitement to play Riva—"

Sakurako's comment, which was sure to have launched another full-fledged argument, was thankfully cut off by a well-aimed pillow to the face.

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**I'm sorry if there was too much description in this chapter- I'm trying to get all the technical stuff out of the way so that when everything really starts you guys can all picture it well—I find it helps when I'm reading things to have a good feel of how the characters look. I'll hopefully do most of the rest (including more Chinatsu and Akari) in the next chapter. Special thanks to SriaLghtft, who pointed out to me that I've been overlooking the descriptions a bit!**

**As you can see, I've changed Himawari's hairstyle a bit- instead of two little braids, it'll be a single thick braid (like, fairly loose at the top, kind of like she has in the anime, but a thick braid off to the side and over the shoulder...I don't know how to describe it...think Alicia from "Aria" except without long loose hair at the front and significantly shorter) with a thinner headband...maybe I'll try to draw it?**

**Thanks for reading, and please leave a review if you want it continued! I promise it'll get interesting soon—this is just the boring period where everything has to get off the ground, you know?**


	4. Of Cramped Cars and Teen Angst

**Okay, so…yeah. I am SO sorry. Before I could go farther in this story, I got talked into going further in my schooling (to become a veterinary technician instead of just a veterinary assistant), and just…yeah. I've been seriously stressed and just…yeah. ANYWAY, I am so sorry for how long this took, and I really hope you guys will forgive me/still be here reading this. I just want you all to know (all those of you who took the time to leave such encouraging and descriptive reviews), that it was rereading this story and your reviews on it that motivated me to continue with this. You guys are the best, and I hope you'll continue to support me now that I'm finally back!**

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**Even the Stars Grow Older  
**

**Three: Of Cramped Cars and Teen Angst**

* * *

It was cramped.

Not like, crowded restaurant cramped, but like, hip-to-hip, some stranger on your lap in the school cafeteria cramped.

Poor Akari was, of course, caught in the middle of it, along with Sakurako (who had initiated what had quickly escalated into an all-out brawl with Himawari for the window-seat, only to be shut down because it would make no sense for the much curvier bluenette to sit in the middle). Chinatsu was on her left, glaring out the window, her elbow resting against the door frame, her chin resting on her open palm, the light from the window highlighting the sharp, attractive contours of her face.

As entertaining Sakurako and Himawari were, her ears were starting to ring. Sakurako's soprano was much more grating than Himawari's feminine alto, but Chinatsu was growing equally irritated by the more mature bluenette's inability to just let even one of Sakurako's stupid comments go without responding. Glancing over at her best friend, Akari's mouth twisted into a sympathetic smile, an imaginary sweat drop beading at her temple. Chinatsu responded to this by making a rather unattractive face, sticking her tongue out and wrapping her hands around her neck, pretending to gag at the 'old married couple'. Akari giggled, but quieted quickly, flushing brightly due to the odd, but not entirely unpleasant, sensation bubbling up in her chest.

Noticing her friend's sudden silence, Chinatsu's snarky gesture morphed into a look of concern, and she removed her hands from around her neck so that she could place one on Akari's arm. The redhead subsequently jumped, causing the pink-haired girl's frown to deepen all the more. "Akari-chan? Akari, are you alright?"

Flushing deeper with the conscious effort it took not to choke on her own saliva, Akari nodded. It was nothing out of the ordinary—Chinatsu often forgot, or even outright abandoned, honorifics altogether. It was certainly nothing to blush about. On an entirely unrelated note, Chinatsu smelled more like strawberries and vanilla today…

"Um!" Akari coughed out, just as she saw Chinatsu's full, pink lips parting to question her again. "Yes, I'm fine, Chinatsu-chan," she replied with a ridiculously wide smile. "Just a little cramped, I guess. I'm not used to long car trips either."

"Hmmm," the pinkette hummed, her gaze shifting to the rows of fields out her window. In one swift, graceful movement, she wrapped a surprisingly strong arm around Akari's waist, pulling the girl tight against her, further away from the perpetually squirming Sakurako. The redhead, her heartbeat now dangerously arrhythmic, opened her mouth to question her best friend's actions, but no words came out. Luckily, that had never stopped the human battery that was Chinatsu. "All that bouncing doesn't help, right?" she quipped, jerking her head toward Sakurako, who was now squealing in pain, as Himawari had managed to get a hold of her ear. "Besides, the last thing I need is you barfing all over me to make this trip even more fun." The pink-haired girl winked.

"H-hey!" Akari replied, indignant, but proud of herself for being able to vocalize even that much. Chinatsu's scent was now overwhelming, and she had yet to remove her arm from around the redhead's waist. Akari shifted, unable to settle for some reason. She was tempted to tell Chinatsu that she was still cramped, just in a different way—however, something familiar, yet quite foreign tugged at her stomach when she contemplated pulling away, so she kept her mouth shut. After a few more minutes, Chinatsu's grip loosened, the arm around Akari's waist retracting to instead loop through the redhead's arm in a fairly typical gesture of friendship. Still, Akari couldn't quite force her color to return to normal, and she instead settled for looking toward her feet, seemingly deep in thought.

Next to Sakurako (less than two feet away, given their current cramped conditions), Himawari watched her two friends, brows furrowed, eyes dawning with comprehension.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, _itaaaii_~ Himawari, let go!"

Sakurako's yelps alerted the bluenette to the fact that she was still gripping the blonde's ear, and she shot her frienemy a look before releasing her hold. "Now shut up and let the rest of us have some peace and quiet," she ordered, averting her gaze out her window and trying her damndest to ignore the fact that Sakurako's squirming had left the blonde practically in her lap, and also (especially) the fact that Himawari didn't really _mind_ the extra weight.

* * *

Another hour or so in, and the slight pressure in Himawari's lap had morphed into dead weight as Sakurako fell asleep, one leg tucked between both of the bluenette's, her body turned toward Himawari and her head resting heavily against her shoulder. Glancing up, Himawari could see Yui's knowing gaze in the rear-view mirror.

She could also see Kyouko's lecherous eye-brow waggling, but chose to ignore that.

She had one arm draped around Sakurako's back, as it really had nowhere else to go, and her fingers were trailing lazy patterns over the blonde's fabric-covered skin, for which Himawari didn't have an excuse. If Sakurako woke up this second, she mused, there would be a lot of squawking, denial and shoving hands. _Really, you're still such a child_, she thought to herself as her hazel eyes fell to the top of the sleeping girl's head.

Unconsciously, she leaned closer, only realizing this when flyaway blonde hair tickled her nose. She blinked—she was close enough to count each hair on the top of the girl's head, and she could feel Sakurako's warmth on her lips. As if in a trance, she closed the remaining distance (a centimeter or two at most, in reality) and pressed her lips firmly, thoughtfully to the blonde tresses. She stayed there for a long moment, until a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she raised her gaze just slightly to meet with a half-amused, full-teasing look from Chinatsu, who had one eyebrow raised as her blue eyes flickered between the two 'enemies'. Instantly, she flushed a pretty pink, averting her gaze to the back of Kyouko's headrest. She was an older sister; it was just second nature, habits that had been built up after years of playing second mother to Kaede.

Only it wasn't that at all, and Himawari was well aware of that. The habits may have been formed over the years, but the emotions behind them weren't any she'd _ever _associate with her younger sister.

As the car sped over a bump and Sakurako's head fell to her ample chest, Himawari nervously cleared her throat. She didn't like the idea of dealing with the aftermath of Sakurako's childish mannerisms when the blonde inevitably woke up, nor did she like to think about why she was so content holding her like this. "Um, Funami-senpai," she asked, her voice slightly rough from lack of use over the past hour, "where were we stopping for the night, again?"

She knew, of course; they were going to meet Ayano and Chitose at a Hilton hotel several hours out of the city in which Comuket would be held, and then complete the trek tomorrow. Anything to break the silence, however; moreover, anything to stop her from overthinking, as she was so prone to doing.

"Ah—just another half hour or so," came the reply. "Sorry you're squeezed in back there, by the way." Yui shot her a sympathetic look in the rearview mirror.

"At least it's finally quiet," Chinatsu quipped dryly. Like Sakurako, Akari had fallen asleep, though the pink-haired girl seemed significantly calmer than Himawari felt. The bluenette felt a brief pang of sympathy for her slumbering redheaded friend; it was clear that there was something there, at least for Akari. If Chinatsu didn't feel anything in return (she was much more difficult to read than her easily-overlooked best friend), she was certainly not making things any easier on the poor girl with her casual touches and invasions of personal space. Himawari made a mental note to have a word with Akari before they returned home; at the very least, she could be a sympathetic ear. A part of her wondered whether Akari was even aware of her own feelings, though.

She heaved a sigh, the movement prompting Sakurako to unconsciously snuggle closer, burying her head in the bluenette's chest. Sometimes she wished they didn't have to grow up and face their feelings; that they could have just perpetually remained carefree and blissfully ignorant. Of course, Himawari had been well aware of her own feelings for Sakurako for years, if she was entirely honest with herself. Most of the time, however, it was easier to lie to herself (at least when she could convince herself to believe it). In middle school, she supposed a part of her had been hoping that she would grow out of it; after all, Sakurako was lazy, selfish and annoying, and there was no rational reason for Himawari to feel the way she did for her childhood friend.

But the years had come and gone and she was beginning to realize that she may _never _outgrow Sakurako, and the feelings that realization brought with it confused her more than anything had before. Glancing down at the blonde head resting against her chest, she wondered whether going along on this trip wasn't perhaps the stupidest decision she'd made in quite a while.

And God only knew what Kyouko had up her sleeve on top of everything else.

* * *

The sun was just beginning to set as they pulled into the hotel parking lot. Ayano and Chitose had apparently beat them there, unless somebody else owned an incredibly _purple_ Volkswagon Bug.

The rear door of Yui's beat up station wagon was all but flung open as both Chinatsu and Akari practically poured out of the back seat, holding each other up, as both were still woozy, the pink-haired girl having given in to sleep about half an hour before. Kyouko spun over to the two, presumably to glomp Chinatsu before she was entirely awake and aware, only to be met by a blunt palm to the face from a decidedly grumpy pinkette. Akari winced as Kyouko toppled backwards—she knew from experience that waking Chinatsu before she was ready was all but a death sentence, though she almost preferred grumpy, violent Chinatsu to still-dreaming, lustful Chinatsu, whom Akari had the misfortune to meet at a sleepover the previous year.

"Get off!"

"Carryyyy meeee, Himawariiii~"

"You are such a child, Sakurako!"

"I'll love you forever~"

"Ugh, Sakurako, I swear, you…"

The group turned to see a beet-red Himawari emerge from the other side of the car, Sakurako draped over her back like a ragdoll.

Chinatsu coughed, "Whipped," into her hand, blinking innocently up at Himawari when the red-faced bluenette glared at her, while Akari awww'ed at the sight.

There was that feeling again, she thought, her chest clenching as they made their way into the lobby of the hotel, the long-suffering Himawari dutifully giving the lazy Sakurako a piggy-back ride. She was snapped out of her reverie by a scoff to her right, and her head snapped to Chinatsu, who rolled her eyes and stretched languidly, giving Akari the sudden, vivid impression of a freshly woken panther. "If those two don't fuck out their issues on this trip, I swear to God…"

"_Chinatsu-chan_!"

The pink-haired girl cackled as Akari smacked her arm without any real force, scolding her for her crassness.

* * *

Across the room, Chitose watched her best friend's posture stiffen the second Toshino Kyouko (!) entered the lobby; if she hadn't known better, she would have thought that perhaps Ayano could actually _sense _the blonde's presence without even seeing her.

Smiling serenely, she sat back and waited for the decidedly noisy group to make their way over so that they could assign rooms for the night. This, she thought, was going to be an interesting trip.

Luckily, she remembered to pack extra tissues.

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry it sucks—I have a hard time getting to the actual action in a story, so it always seems kinda slow and boring up until then, so I'm sorry if I bored you guys to death with this D: I hope you'll all stick with me through it, though, because it will get better! I already have some ideas :) ****Please leave a review, tell me what you thought, let me know if you're still around so I'll know to continue with this (because there's no point uploading if nobody is reading, lol). Next chapter will be the hotel rooms, maybe some party games to kill the time ;)**

**Again, I am SOSOSO sorry for the delay! Life caught me and…yeah. Stress. Anyway, thanks for reading! I know this wasn't the best chapter by far, I still have to get back into the habit of this story, and I know this wasn't great. I hope it wasn't terrible, though! Please do review! :)**


	5. Tsundere Spats and Impending Doom (?)

**Hey guys! First off, thank you SO much for the continued support! I hope this chapter is better than the last one, because you guys definitely deserve it to be :) Also, that's why this came out slightly later than I had originally intended—at first I wrote like 3 chapters right after the one I posted, but by the end of the third, I was like, "Man, this is turning into a drama piece, ugh!", so I didn't want to post any of it unless I could find a way to fix it. I think (read: hope) I pretty much fixed this one, so I'm gonna go ahead and post it. I hope you guys enjoy, and please remember that reviews are love and motivation for me to continue! :)**

* * *

**Even the Stars Grow Older  
**

**Four: Tsundere Spats and Impending Doom (?)  
**

* * *

Himawari was upset.

Or, rather, she _would _have been, had the situation not been so completely and utterly predictable.

Because of _course_ she would get stuck sharing a room with Sakurako, just like always; just like all the Christmas 'dates' Kyouko had set up in which the selection had been completely random and they'd _still _gotten stuck together. It was like the universe was playing a perpetual joke on Himawari, and it was really starting to get just a little bit old, if she was being completely honest. And really, she should have expected Kyouko not to have thought far enough ahead to reserve rooms meant for two (platonic) individuals.

(Although at this point in her friendship with the blonde, half of Himawari wondered whether the blonde wasn't stupid at all, but instead extremely cunning and maybe just a little bit sadistic.)

The only situation that sounded worse than her current one was Sakurako having been paired with someone _else_ in the cozy, _single-bed_ hotel room. This line of thought made Himawari feel slightly nauseous, both at the idea itself and at the fact that said idea_ made_ her feel sick in the first place. But these conflicting feelings were, unfortunately, nothing new for the bluenette, either. While Sakurako was certainly louder and more obvious in her disapproval of Himawari spending any significant amount of time with anyone besides the blonde herself, Himawari was decidedly the more possessive of the two, being more in tune with (and aware of) her feelings. Luckily, she was also significantly better at controlling said emotions.

Of course, despite possessing near super-human patience (she'd have to, having been practically joined at the hip with Sakurako for going on 12 years now), Himawari _was_ still human, and she did slip occasionally. Looking back, there had been that time in middle school, with the play and the pudding and Sakurako being an insensitive glutton, resulting in her unwittingly stealing Ayano's indirect kiss with (Toshino) Kyouko (!). Himawari had openly snapped at the chestnut-haired girl for that little stunt, and while she kicked herself for it later, she also congratulated herself on showing a remarkable amount of restraint—snapping at the girl had been the very bare _minimum _of what Himawari had been tempted to do.

And then there had been a similar test to the bluenette's control just a few months ago. Himawari was helping Sakurako with her homework and Sakurako had made some stupid comment about her breasts, and in response, Himawari had made some critical (and sadly accurate) remark about Sakurako's grades, and the fight had escalated into Sakurako loudly proclaiming that she would just get Kyouko to help her with her homework, because she was way more fun than Himawari. _That_ incident had been slightly more trying on the bluenette's patience, as Sakurako was always going on about how fun their blonde senpai was, even outside of arguments.

But this was ridiculous. Sakurako hadn't been paired with someone else, and even if she had, the joke would be on them, Himawari decided as her frienemy shoved past her (she'd been so shocked that she'd paused in the doorway for the few seconds which apparently comprised the whole of Sakurako's patience threshold) and immediately catapulted herself onto the bed, appearing not to share Himawari's misgivings. The bluenette's eye twitched, envious of and, though she'd never admit it, slightly hurt by, Sakurako's complete lack of reaction.

"I'll be taking the bed," she huffed, setting her suitcase (and Sakurako's, as she had dropped it in her race to get to the bed) delicately off to the side. "It's not like sleeping on the floor will cause _you_ any problems," she added, gazing pointedly at Sakurako's still relatively-flat chest. She chastised herself immediately after the words escaped her lips; what was she doing, picking a fight? And Sakurako actually seemed to be in a fairly good mood…it wasn't as though it had been a lie, because with Himawari's breast size, sleeping on the floor would certainly cause back discomfort. Still, such blatant honesty (bordering on insulting) was much more Sakurako's shtick, and apparently, her blonde friend thought so as well, if the confused and hurt look painted over her still childish features was anything to go by.

True to form, though, Sakurako quickly bounced back. "Too bad I got here first, Boobawari," she retorted, sticking her tongue out at Himawari. "It's not my fault you've got two ginormous wads of _fat _strapped to your—" She was cut off by the bluenette, who had crossed the room and leapt onto the bed with all the grace of an Olympic sprinter. In less than a second, Himawari had the blonde pressed against the headboard, one hand supporting her frame against the headboard, the other clamped tightly over Sakurako's (surprisingly small) mouth.

Sakurako's amber eyes met her own hazel orbs just as they had less than a week before, and Himawari felt her chest tighten—whether it was in rage or…something else…she wasn't entirely sure. But whatever it was, it did nothing to hinder the adrenaline pulsing through her veins. "Do _not _finish that sentence," she repeated lowly, eyes dark and threatening. And then whatever had possessed her in that split second left as quickly as it had come, and Himawari hesitated, eyes wide and cheeks flusuhed, for just a half-second before quickly pushing back onto her knees before Sakurako could react.

_Before she could jerk away; before she could reject me._

She had no idea what had come over her—what _kept _coming over her—recently. Why was her omnipresent self-control waning so rapidly?

"Himawari?"

The bluenette blinked, her gaze snapping back to the amber eyes of her best friend as if magnetized. The dirty-blonde was frowning slightly; she'd pushed herself up onto her elbows, and had moved closer to Himawari. "Are you alright?"

"W-what? Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, just…recently…" Sakurako flushed, trailing off mid-sentence. Her eyes flickered down to her lap in embarrassment, but quickly flew back up to meet the bluenette's, her gaze firm and determined despite the faint redness in her cheeks. "You keep spacing out and you seem kind of distant…" She paused, uncharacteristically observant, and Himawari grew nervous. Despite everything, Sakurako was quite intelligent, much like her sisters. She was just easily distracted and incredibly lazy; it's what made her dangerous, as the blonde's inherent stupidity always lowered Himawari's already weakened guard.

"You've got a crush on someone, don't you?"

_Tooclosetooclosetooclosetooclose_

"Saku—what? I do not!"

Sakurako smirked, though her lips trembled just slightly, and the amusement didn't quite reach her eyes. "Himawari's got a boooy~frieeend," the blonde sang, grinning toothily.

And just like that, the fear fled Himawari's body in great waves—the stupid had returned.

"Once again, I do_ not_!" Himawari snapped, failing to notice Sakurako's subtle mood shift—the slight furrow of a blonde brow marring what was otherwise any other cheerful, teasing smile—in her embarrassment. "And even if I did, at least people consider dating me, unlike you, who's never so much as been asked out!"

"You've been asked out?" The blonde's tone was both shocked and blatantly accusatory now, and Himawari wasn't entirely sure whether to be offended that Sakurako apparently thought her too unattractive to have been asked out even once in all their going-on 17 years of life, or shocked dumb, because…

"Oh, for God's sake, Sakurako—and how would I have this supposed boyfriend if I _hadn't_ been asked out, hmm?"

* * *

The two were still bickering as they entered the room that Yui and Chitose were sharing (at the request of the silver-haired girl herself, glasses in one hand, a blood-soaked tissue in the other).

Yui hadn't been even a little shocked when, a few minutes before the two had arrived, Kyouko had shown up at her door, a furiously blushing Ayano in tow, declaring that she'd invited everyone over. Even when they all had separate, adult-free hotel rooms, it seemed as though she was doomed to play the hostess.

And now, it appeared as though she would need to referee what could very well escalate into an all-out fistfight between their two favorite tsunderes (all of theirs with the exception of Kyouko, that was, who seemed to have taken a particular liking to one purple-haired trope exemplifier in particular).

"I still fail to see _what _concern it is of _yours _if and who I choose to date, Sakurako!"

"Of course it's my concern!" Sakurako shouted in response, hands balling into fists at her sides, eyes flashing with what was equally likely to be brimming fury as it was barely restrained tears. Then the blonde appeared to rethink whatever incriminating words had been about to pour from her lips (for_ once_—Himawari would have been proud, were she not so busy being annoyed), quickly redirecting into more familiar (safer) territory. "If you go all stupid and boy-crazy, you won't be able to help me with my homework!"

"I swear, Sakurako Oomuro, you are the most pig-headed, selfish, _lazy_—"

"Alright, alright, enough," Yui said, swiftly stepping between the arguing duo, hands outstretched, separating the two. "Whatever this is about, it can wait, yeah? Let's just hang out and have fun, okay?"

Sakurako scoffed and stomped over to the couch, throwing herself down and turning on the television to some random channel. Himawari just heaved a large sigh and shook her head, turning her back and running fidgeting fingers through her thick, loose side-braid, her free arm curled around her stomach, supporting her elbow. Unbeknownst to her (but not to a suddenly not-so-bored Chinatsu, who'd been lounging at the table in the corner of the room, inspecting her already perfect fingernails), Sakurako's gaze followed the trail that the bluenette's fingers carved through dark-blue tresses (before drifting decidedly lower) her expression soft and blank, almost as if she were in a trance.

The pinkette rolled her eyes and turned to Akari, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed across from her. "What did I tell you?" she asked, wryly, and Akari quickly realized she wasn't meant to respond, as the pinkette continued, "I'll bet you anything, if they'd both just stop being stubborn for two seconds and fu—"

"Truth or dare!"

Chinatsu blinked, her gaze shifting to the door of the hotel room (which had just banged open, revealing a blonde who had apparently left at some point?), while Akari let out a sigh of relief at having gotten out of hearing more of her best friend's 'theories'. Usuallly, she quite liked listening to Chinatsu talk, even if it was about nothing at all. Akari was naturally quieter, and while that seemed to annoy some extroverts, Chinatsu never seemed to have an issue with talking enough for the both of them. She never got tired of watching the pinkette's expressive features, either, and on top of that, if Chinatsu was talking to her, she could watch her for hours without anyone thinking anything of it… Akari shook her head, hard. All this sexual tension building up within their group was palpable, and was apparently starting to effect the redhead's own hormones. Why else would she suddenly be noticing how nice Chinatsu smelled, or how pretty she was even when being terribly mean?

Anyway, the point was that while she usually enjoyed Chinatsu's voice, she was just somewhat uncomfortable with the level of vulgarity that Chinatsu's theories could potentially reach. It always ended up with Chinatsu in stitches, because it never failed to leave Akari red-faced and stuttering, and apparently the pinkette found this embarrassed reaction quite entertaining. Once, when the redhead had puffed out her cheeks and ignored Chinatsu for long enough (about 30 seconds, which was about twice Akari's usual limit), the pinkette had giggled and rolled over to her, wrapping her in a tight hug (and that was another thing, Chinatsu gave the best hugs…ANYWAY) and telling her she was adorable when she got all embarrassed.

Which had proceeded to make a previously strawberry-red Akari flush full-on fire-engine.

_No, stop it! That's got nothing to do with anything!_

After chastising herself mentally and resolving to ignore any further misplaced feelings, Akari followed Chinatsu's gaze (and totally didn't take a pit stop to trace the line of the girl's collar bone, which was beautifully on display thanks to her slip-shoulder blouse, with her eyes). Kyouko had barreled back into the room from…wherever she'd gone…with an empty bottle in hand. "Puss—I mean, people who back out of dares," she corrected herself after a kick to the shin from an unamused Yui, "have to take a shot!" She produced another bottle from behind her back, this one full of a clear liquid, and suddenly it was very clear where she had gone.

"T-Toshino Kyouko!" Ayano exclaimed, genuinely shocked. "We're all underage! Wh-why do you have that?"

"I'm more interested in _how_ she got that," Yui commented lowly, finding Ayano's question to be somewhat unnecessary. It was, after all, well within the scope of 'normal' for Kyouko to do something like this. "Kyouko, we're not playing some stupid drinking game," she said, louder this time. "We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow, and—"

"P_shaw_, you sound like my mother, Yui," Kyouko interrupted, waving her hand dismissively. Yui's hands clenched into fists, eyes narrowing at the perceived challenge. "Don't be such a killjoy—here, have a shot."

Yui pushed the proffered bottle out of her face, where the blonde had been dangling it like a shiny new toy. "Fine," she said, shortly. "I'm kicking you out of my car when you start puking up your guts on the way to Comuket. Even if we're on the highway going 90 miles an hour and there's nowhere to pull over."

* * *

**Five Minutes (and Eight Shots, at Kyouko's Insistence) Later…**

* * *

"Alright, normal rules apply! You can't do more than two truths in a row, and if you chicken out of a dare, you have to take the penalty, which will be…" Kyouko paused in her instructions, nose wrinkling in thought, before a mischievous glint appeared in her eye, one devious enough to make shivers run down the spines of several of the girls, despite the tingling they were already experiencing from the shot of pure rum they'd all taken. "To do a lap around the floor…butt-naked."

"Kyouko!"

"T-T-T-Toshino Kyouko!"

Two protests sounded immediately, but the blonde just waved Yui away and winked at a practically glowing red Ayano, whose mouth opened to continue to protest, before snapping shut in defeat. The magenta-haired student council president let out a tiny huff, falling back to her position cross-legged on the floor, proceeding to fiddle nervously with her long ponytail.

"Alright, now that's out of the way…Super-Revealing, Heart-Pounding Truth or Dare (of love)…Start!"

"Yeah, whatever…wait, _what_ was that last part?"

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and look forward to Super-Revealing, Heart-Pounding Truth or Dare (of love) next chapter! ;)**


	6. The One With Truth or Dare

**Hey guys! Apparently I'm going to be busy for the next few days putting together a music video for class, so I decided to post a chapter now instead of like, a week from now. So I hope you guys like it—I think it may be a touch dramatic for a game of truth or dare, but I've done pretty much all I can to de-dramatify it, so I hope you guys like it okay :) ALSO, I've changed the name of the story! I feel like the previous one was too intense/vague...it doesn't change anything, but I hope it's still obvious that it's the same story, that it doesn't make anything difficult for you guys :P  
**

**I did want to address a review I received from a guest—usually I like to do so in a pm, but I couldn't do that with a guest review, sorry D: Anyway, I realize your concern, and I know it might have gotten a little different tone-wise for a bit there—I wrote it and then hated it, and then went back and edited the hell out of it, so there must have been a few parts I didn't get to, which I'm really sorry about :( I do want to thank you for taking the time to put together such a well-worded review and letting me know about the pacing issue :)  
**

**I think there's been a slight misunderstanding about the climax/reveal, though—that wasn't the big reveal scene at all, don't worry. We're not even to Comuket yet, and I don't see the story ending any time in the near future. The thing is, I don't write plans out or whatever for my stories before I write them—I write what I feel like and what feels right, because if I try to go along with a set plan, I get bored and my ADD kicks in and the story goes to shit…ANYWAY, long story short, I'm sorry it felt rushed; I should have edited it better than I did, but I've been overloaded with school for the past week (trying to figure out how to properly put together a music video with all the audio and techy-tech stuff is hard enough; try doing it when nobody else seems to realize that shooting a great one is more than just a fast, one-shot affair Dx). But that's totally my bad, and I will definitely try to do better in the future. Main thing is that the previous chapter wasn't meant to be a big reveal—it was just a more revealing chapter than the previous ones, as this one will probably be as well. I was also afraid that I was getting TOO detail-oriented and spending too much time on it, making the story boring for you guys, so I got a little paranoid and I guessed ended up going to the other extreme Dx So I'm sorry it turned out poorly and rushed, and I hope this one is a little better (although I think I missed the point of truth or dare xP). Thanks (to all of you!) for leaving a review and sharing your opinion with me! I'll be more careful in the future :)**

**Also, the cliché was intentional ;P It sets the groundwork for some self-discovery coming up soon :)**

* * *

**Even the Stars Grow Older  
**

**Five: The One With Truth or Dare  
**

* * *

"Alright, spin!" Kyouko narrated goofily, as she set the bottle in motion with a firm flick of her wrist. It circled two or three times before slowing, and finally coming to a halt on…

"Chinatsu-chwaan~"

"_Don't_," the pinkette immediately retorted, accurately predicting the impending glomp as Kyouko outstretched her arms, "even think about it."

The blonde pouted for only a moment before brightening again. "Truth or dare, _China-chuu_?"

"Don't call me that," Chinatsu corrected, blue eyes flashing. She leaned back, her back finding the leg of the table she'd been sitting at just a bit ago, and crossed her arms confidently over her chest. "And truth."

Beside the pinkette, Akari was trying not to sway too close to her best friend, despite the tugging inside of her that kept urging her to do just that. It had only been a single shot, but Akari hadn't eaten much that day due to the long car trip, and her poor body had never encountered a drop of alcohol her entire life. If she hadn't downed it all at once, maybe… But Kyouko had complained loudly when she'd tried to sip it, and despite the immediate tongue-lashing the blonde got from an overprotective Chinatsu (sweet, Akari thought, though ironic, given that Chinatsu had slammed her own shot back like a pro. But sweet nonetheless), the redhead had given in to the minimal peer pressure, not wanting to be boring and fade into the background as she was so prone to doing.

She'd taken a deep breath and thrown back the rest of her drink as quickly as possible, as if the liquid were some nasty, 'cherry' flavored cough syrup, wincing as it burned on the way down. God, how could people _like_ that stuff? It tasted like something she'd find on a shelf in an auto-shop!

Shaking her head and instantly regretting it when the room itself tipped slightly, Akari brought herself back to the present just in time to hear Kyouko's question.

"Alright…tell me the truth, _China-chuu_," Kyouko said, blatantly ignoring Chinatsu's request (read: demand) that she not call her the cutesy nickname. "We all know you're a hit with the boys," here she winked, "but have you ever…you know…_done _anything about it?"

"Done…?"

"You know," Kyouko continued, "like, _done_?" She positioned her arms as if she were holding onto something in front of her and thrust her hips crudely, causing Yui to facepalm and an already blushing Ayano to nearly go into cardiac arrest. "Like, done the nasty? Screwed the pooch? Have you ever fu—"

"I'm pretty sure she gets it, Kyouko!" Yui interrupted, flushing fairly darkly herself, before Kyouko crossed the thin barrier that separated inappropriate from outright sexual harassment.

All eyes fell to Chinatsu, who didn't seem fazed at all. Glancing over at Akari, who was watching her with wide eyes, as if expecting her to explode at any second, she shrugged. "I was expecting a lot worse." Turning back to Kyouko, her pretty features morphed into a deadpan expression. "Yes, Kyouko-senpai, I've had sex with a boy."

Kyouko's jaw dropped, and Yui's eyes widened in shock, not so much from the confession itself, but from Chinatsu's casualty in giving it. On the other side of the circle, next to Chinatsu, Akari's reaction seemed tame by comparison. To the redhead's right, however, Himawari made the keen realization that the redhead was not actually _breathing_, and placed a concerned hand on her lower back, not knowing what else to do without alerting the rest of the room. On the bluenette's other side, Sakurako frowned at the gesture.

_She's…she's had…I mean, she's not a _virgin_, _Akari thought, unable for some reason to bring herself to say the actual word. _I mean…it's not like it's surprising, Chinatsu's always been very sexual, even back in middle school, but I never…I'm surprised, but…but why do I feel like _crying_? _

She felt as though she'd been punched in the gut; like she'd swallowed a rock, making it impossible for her to breathe. Vaguely, she registered Himawari's gentle touch, though she didn't fully equate the hand with the girl it belonged to. Her brain felt like it was short-circuiting—every time she started a thought, it was cut off, interrupted by another, or it simply broke off, floating away into nothingness. Her brow was furrowing and her eyes felt hard, like they would burst from the pressure of the restrained tears she didn't know why were there to begin with. The raucous sounds of the game around her registered as little more than muffled laughter as she spun deeper into her thoughts, until…

Suddenly the room came back to life as another hand made contact with her body, around her wrist this time. Akari felt herself being literally pulled from her thoughts, the hand tugging at her wrist, almost as though it was pulling her back up, up, up into the noise and bright lights.

Chinatsu, who'd been questioned tirelessly by a nosy Kyouko, had finally grown tired of the harassment and had turned to garner a bit of sympathy from her best friend, only to find Akari staring down at her lap, Himawari's hand pressed comfortingly to the redhead's back. Something deep inside of her growled at the sight, but the feeling was gone a second later, whatever had protested buried so deeply inside of her that Chinatsu had barely registered it at all. Still, her body didn't seem to forget so easily, and without thinking, she reached out and grabbed Akari's wrist, pulling the redhead just the tiniest bit closer to her (and, by default, away from Himawari, who raised both eyebrows and retracted her hand, holding it up and away from their mutual friend in a subtle show of submission, having witnessed the half-second, blink-and-you'll-miss-it glare in sharp blue eyes). She leaned forward as she did so, effectively bringing their faces so close that they were sharing the same air.

"Akari?" she questioned, frowning in concern, having already forgotten about the inconsequential truth Kyouko had forced her to reveal. It had been a one-night thing, after all—less than nothing to Chinatsu, who had just been curious as to what it felt like (and wanted to know if she really was gay—turned out, she was). Losing her virginity really hadn't been a big deal to her, odd though it may sound. "What's wrong?"

The redhead glanced up, finding herself dangerously close to stunning blue eyes and pursed pink lips. The air around her smelled like peppermint, with just a hint of rum, and it confused her already muddled mind until a burst of warmth against her lips made her realize it was Chinatsu's breath mingling with her own. God, was Chinatsu _always_ getting this close? She hadn't noticed…

And then further furrowing of perfectly sculpted brows jolted her back to the present. Right. She'd asked her a question. But…

_I don't know._

_ Help me, Chinatsu-chan. I'm afraid._

_I think…I think I'm falling in _love_ with you._

"Nothing," Akari said with a reassuring smile that masked the massive, system-wide shock her poor body had just endured. Hidden in her lap, away from the group's attention, her small, suddenly clammy hands curled into weak fists. She dug her nails into her palms, as if to remind herself that she was still here—that this was, in fact, her life. The universe, it seemed, had gotten bored with the perpetual joke that was her life—now, apparently, it was time for her to develop hopeless feelings for her more than unattainable best friend. "I just spaced out a little bit, that's all."

Chinatsu rolled her eyes in a long-suffering way, not noticing the way her friend's lips had trembled ever so slightly. "Geez, don't scare me like that, Akari-chan," she said, stretching her arms out behind her, eliciting several satisfying pops.

There was something Akari wasn't telling her, she knew that much, and that bothered her more than she could say, but she wouldn't push it—not now, at least—but she wouldn't let it go forever. Letting one of her arms fall lazily behind the redhead in an unconscious gesture of protectiveness, Chinatsu returned her attention to the game, as the excitable Kyouko finally calmed down enough for them to continue.

Fifteen minutes in, most of truths and dares had been relatively minor, from Kyouko being asked what her sexuality was (a fairly tame truth, given the recipient of the question, who gladly came forth as an ardent admirer of the ladies), to Yui being dared to talk 'like a girl' for the remainder of the night.

Unfortunately for most of the group, this meant that the blonde was only getting more and more restless.

"Alright, enough with the baby stuff," Kyouko finally declared after Chitose had been dared to walk around the room on her hands. She commandeered the bottle from Akari, who'd seemed slightly subdued since the game had begun, before Chitose could reach for it, and spun it hard enough to send it flying into a table leg.

"Calm down," Yui stated, deadpan, retrieving the bottle and handing it back to Kyouko. Chitose was mildly disappointed at her turn having been taken from her, but quickly returned to her serene state of people-watching. It was Kyouko, after all—Chitose didn't need to have a turn as long as _somebody_ was getting to the good stuff, and the blonde was sure to provide.

Kyouko did as Yui said—or at least, enough so that she didn't send the bottle rocketing out the window—and spun again. The bottle came to a stop with its neck pointing directly at Akari, which failed to produce anywhere near the reaction Kyouko had been hoping for. She thought for a moment—she was beginning to worry about her friend, but she was also incredibly bored with this tame game of truth or dare. Then her eyes brightened, and an imaginary light bulb flashed on over her head. Who said she couldn't cheer Akari up _by _getting her into the spirit of truth or dare? "Truth or dare, Akari?"

"Um…dare, I guess," Akari replied. She'd chosen truth the past two times that the bottle had landed on her, and she really wasn't in the mood to put up any kind of argument. Kyouko's face split into a shit-eating grin.

"Alright…I dare you to…" She tapped her chin for a long moment, pretending to contemplate Akari's fate, amused by the glare she was receiving from Chinatsu.

Kyouko was far from as stupid as she behaved—while she did love slacking off and playing around, it didn't mean she couldn't be insightful, too. Growing up had only served to further develop this trait in the blonde, much to the ire of most of the other girls.

Chinatsu, she'd noticed, was incredibly protective of Akari—had been ever since the two had begun to grow closer in their second year of middle school (she'd really noticed a change after hers and Yui's eighth grade field trip). It was Chinatsu's nature, Kyouko had decided, after the pinkette had nearly neutered a boy back in freshman year, all for calling Akari forgettable (as they had all done once or twice or a bunch of times, but apparently it wasn't okay if it wasn't Chinatsu or someone else in their tight-knit group of friends), and it was quite entertaining to watch, despite the substantial health risks teasing that part of Chinatsu brought with it. "Kiss Yui," she finally declared, deciding she'd tortured Akari enough.

"W-what?"

"Kyouko!"

"_Kyouko-senpai_!"

Kyouko grinned—she'd netted triple points for that one. Yui seemed more concerned with Akari's relative innocence than anything else, while Akari was utterly mortified at having to do something so intimate with one of her close friends (or at least, _that _close friend, smirked Kyouko to herself). Chinatsu had leapt to her feet, eyes narrowed and jaw set, and Kyouko took a moment to admire puberty's work in the pinkette. It was especially evident in the bone structure of her face—in her cheekbones and jawline. But she only took a moment to do so, because while Kyouko would never outgrow Mirakurun (she shuddered at the _thought_!), she had more or less outgrown her crush on Chinatsu, and now periodically chased after her for amusement purposes more than anything else. The blonde had her bright eyes set on somebody else now, anyway.

"Is there a problem, Chinatsu-chan?" Kyouko asked innocently, mischievous finally drifting up to meet angry as blue eyes clashed. She ignored the glare Yui sent her way. The brunette really didn't want to have to deal with a possessive Chinatsu right now (or ever), and she'd really thought the pinkette had backed off significantly up to this point. There went that…or did it?

"Can't you see that Akari isn't feeling well?" Chinatsu snapped in reply. "If you're going to target someone for one of your weird dares, at least have some sympathy!" Akari flushed even darker at this.

"Chinatsu-chan, it's really okay…"

"I dared her because I want her to cheer up, Chinatsu-chwaan~," Kyouko sang, winking at Akari, causing the redhead to flush even darker, and the pinkette beside her to twitch. "And what better way to cheer someone up than with a good old-fashioned make-out session? But if you're going to be such a killjoy…I guess it doesn't _have_ to be Yui she kisses," the blonde amended innocently. "Sorry, Akari-chan…how about me, then?" Kyouko puckered her lips in an exaggerated fashion, pointing her finger to herself.

From beside her, Ayano opened her mouth, then snapped it shut, looking to be in utter despair.

"Are you deaf?" Chinatsu's tongue, sharp as usual, had apparently not been silenced by the change of plans. "You don't really think putting her in an uncomfortable situation is going to _cheer her up_, do you?" the pinkette snarled. "Akari," she turned to her best friend, who was now beet red. "You don't have to go along with this, you know."

Akari wanted to smile, to allow Chinatsu to protect her as the pinkette had done unconsciously so many times over the years. She really, really did. But now that she knew _why_ it felt so good when she did… And the night's revelations were still fresh, like an open wound. Chinatsu's avid protesting against the original dare was like salt mercilessly rubbed into it. The pinkette hadn't backed down even after the dare had been amended, but at this point, Akari was too upset and overwhelmed by the crushing realization that she was in love with her absolutely unattainable best friend to allow herself even the slightest glimmer of hope.

"It's fine, Chinatsu," she replied, pasting on a remarkably believable smile. "Thanks for your concern, but I'm really okay with it. And it's not Yui anymore, so Chinatsu-chan should be okay with it as well, right?"

_That _might've been just a hint of bitterness seeping through, but she'd only make it worse by acknowledging it, so…

Chinatsu physically recoiled, as if Akari had slapped her instead of thanked her. The redhead had never had a problem with Chinatsu's protectiveness in the past, and she'd certainly never denied the pinkette's help in such situations before now. Did Akari really think she'd only said something to keep her from kissing Yui? Did Chinatsu really seem that shallow still, after all this time?

_Probably_, she thought, frowning.

Chinatsu having been all but forced to bite her tongue (and clearly hating it), Akari was now determined to enjoy the game and the trip despite these new-found feelings that she would _need _to make disappear. The redhead crawled over to Kyouko's side of the circle, and the blonde grinned, in full view of Chinatsu's infuriated expression unlike Akari, easily pulling the redhead the rest of the distance by the small of her back. She paused for just a moment to gently touch Akari's cheek, making sure she was really okay with it, and then crushed their lips together in one swift, easy motion.

Something buried deep (but not quite so deep as before) inside of Chinatsu growled once more.

* * *

**So, Akari's finally accepted these feelings she's been having in regards to Chinatsu, and Chinatsu's feeling…well, **_**something**_**. I'm sorry for the length of this—I know truth or dare is supposed to be short and sweet, but it seems I can't even write a cliché properly :P What'd I get, two dares in 2000 words? :/ ANYWAY, there's part 2 next, so please bear with me! I'm sorry if this is going either too fast or two slow or if it seems abrupt—I've never been good with pacing and honestly I'm just writing this for fun, so I'm just going with what feels right…**

**Thanks to all my reviewers for hanging in there with me, and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I hope the pacing was better this time, because sometimes I really do have issues with that. Please review; you guys really do motivate me to keep writing when you do so, and I feel like it really does make me a better writer! :)**


	7. Jealous Hearts, Confused Minds

**Alright, so here's chapter six! Thank you all for your awesome reviews! I hope that the pace continues to be adequate, and I am actively trying to pace it out better now, because the last thing I want is for it to seem rushed xP Sorry it's been a while since the last update; I've been busy with finals and being slowly killed by some horrible plague I've managed to contract Dx But it's up now, so…I hope you all enjoy it! :)  
Also, I changed the title back- I decided changing a story's title in the middle of it is just stupid, and it didn't sound good anyway. Sorry about that :P  
**

* * *

**Even the Stars Grow Older**

**Six: Jealous Hearts, Confused Minds**

* * *

Chinatsu was _not _happy.

Not only had Kyouko ignored her demands to leave Akari alone, but she had the nerve to blame Chinatsu's protests on her middle school crush on Yui? I mean, yes, Chinatsu still looked her way every once and a while, but it was more out of nostalgia than anything. Once the group had been separated for that year in which Yui and Kyouko were freshmen in high school, she'd realized that she really didn't know much about Yui at all. It was her first words to her, Chinatsu decided, that had made her develop such a strong crush on the older girl. _I'll protect you. _What middle school girl in her right mind wouldn't develop even a little crush on a person who said that to them?

It was her pride, Chinatsu decided, that kept her from forgiving Kyouko even after Akari returned to her seat, looking much happier and upbeat than before. Her pride that had caused her jaw to clench when Kyouko had unexpectedly pulled Akari even closer so that she could whisper something into her ear. Chinatsu was a very proud girl, after all, and the fact that her vehement protests had gone ignored not only by Kyouko but by _Akari_ as well must have been bruising to her ego.

On another note, Chinatsu really wished Himawari would worry about her own idiot of a best friend instead of doting on Akari. I mean, what the hell? Did she not think Chinatsu could do her job? And moreover, that was _Chinatsu's job_, as in, best friend territory. The pinkette's eyes narrowed.

"Dare," she stated shortly as the bottle neck came to rest on her.

"I dare you to…" Sakurako paused, distracted, much like Chinatsu, by Himawari's concern for (a perfectly fine now, thank you very much) Akari. "Um…kiss Akari!" the dirty-blonde blurted out—anything to get Himawari's attention back on her. And it worked, although the glare the bluenette leveled at her made her momentarily reconsider. But earning Himawari's ire was better than being ignored by her altogether, she decided with an internal shrug. _Stupid Himawari, always forgetting she's _mine—_er, my _slave_, that is._

Two things happened simultaneously at Sakurako's words. Akari's face instantly went from the beet red it had been for the majority of the game to a ghostly white. Chinatsu, on the other hand, grinned like a lion. That would show Kyouko—Chinatsu would make Akari see stars, and then Kyouko would be humiliated by how much better a kisser she was than the blonde.

Akari opened her mouth to voice what probably would have been a protest, though nobody would ever know, because before her the vibrations on her vocal cords could convert to audible sound, Chinatsu had grabbed the redhead by her waist ('accidentally' batting Himawari's hand away in the process) with one hand, cupping Akari's face with the other, and slammed their lips together for the first time since that fateful day back in middle school. The hand on Akari's waist pulled her closer to the pinkette, making her lose her balance and instinctively throw her arms around Chinatsu's shoulders to avoid falling backwards.

Kyouko wolf-whistled, completely missing the point Chinatsu was trying to make, but the pinkette didn't mind—mostly because she herself had forgotten the point she'd been trying to make. The point was now, for whatever reason unbeknownst to the pinkette, to make Akari see stars just so that Chinatsu could see the look on her face when she did.

After several beats, the pinkette pulled back, pupils dilated, sharp, yet strangely gentle blue eyes scanning the redhead's face almost self-consciously. Chinatsu's chest swelled when Akari met her gaze with her own; the redhead's eyes were glazed over, her mouth parted slightly, the remnants of her unspoken protests dying on her lips. Without quite knowing why she did it, Chinatsu impulsively leaned forward and pressed her lips to Akari's skin once more, though this time on her forehead. The gesture felt like a reassurance, an apology, perhaps—something incredibly tender that made whatever had been growling inside Chinatsu earlier purr like a contented kitten.

Despite the feeling that the moment had gone on for several long minutes, or even hours, in reality, while the kiss had been slightly longer than necessary, Chinatsu's silent exchange with Akari had lasted only a second or two, and the pinkette turned back to face the others, not even caring that Kyouko was grinning like the cat that ate the canary. Chinatsu's arm fell limp, but remained at Akari's side as the girl blinked, still recovering from the shock of the moment.

The pinkette's casual, unwitting gesture of protectiveness did not go unnoticed by several of the girls (excluding Kyouko, who was trying to force another shot on Ayano, and Ayano, who was trying quite valiantly not to notice the fact that she could see right down Kyouko's shirt from the angle at which the girl was sitting). It left the very specific impression of a boy who'd slept with his girlfriend for the first time, though Chinatsu was anything but manly in her white, off-the-shoulder top and baby-green short shorts.

"Alright," the pinkette said, reaching for the bottle with her long, slender fingers that were tipped, as always, with shimmering nails, making sure to maintain casual contact with Akari now that she felt her role as Akari's best friend had been reestablished (that had to be it, she figured, because why else would she feel so accomplished?). It was her job to comfort the girl if she was upset, after all, not Himawari's, and certainly not baka-Kyouko's. After several turns around the group, the bottle pointed at Kyouko, who cocked her head, looking blankly at Chinatsu and pointing to herself, a smile on her face.

The pinkette ground her teeth as a vein on her forehead popped in renewed irritation for the blonde. "Truth or dare?" she ground out, already formulating her revenge.

"Dare!"

The corner of Chinatsu's lip quirked into an evil smirk. "I dare you to let Sakurako-chan sit in your lap for the rest of the game," she responded with no hesitation. That ought to keep the blonde's mouth shut, she thought, as Sakurako bounced happily over into Kyouko's waiting arms, plopping down heavily. Chinatsu felt a stab of satisfaction when Kyouko grunted with the weight of Sakurako and the added weight caused by the fact that the girl had literally fallen into her lap. Plus…

Chinatsu caught sight of a fuming Himawari out of the corner of her eye. The busty bluenette had her hands clenched into fists at her sides, and she appeared to be biting the inside of her cheek to keep her expression composed. The pinkette did catch the twitching of her left eye, though. Now she could worry about her own best friend, Chinatsu thought, the fact that she was really being quite vindictive registering somewhere in the back of her mind.

The truth was that Chinatsu usually had a hard time making friends—all the way up until she'd joined the amusement club and met Kyouko, Yui and particularly Akari, she'd been alone. Well, not technically. But friends would filter in and out quite quickly as soon as Chinatsu's cute, delicate façade wore off, even just a little bit. But Akari had stayed. They all had, really, but more than any of the others, Akari was incredibly important to Chinatsu. She'd stayed through the bitchiness, through all the crazy that was Chinatsu's obsession with Yui; she'd even stayed after Chinatsu had forced her to practice kissing with her against her will. Akari put up with every single one of Chinatsu's flaws and even seemed to love her all the more for them, and Chinatsu couldn't imagine losing her. Somewhere deep inside of her, Chinatsu wondered if it really made sense, even with all the contributing factors, for her to be so possessive of Akari, but the thoughts were quickly shoved to the side. Of course she was possessive of Akari—anyone would be, were they in her position. Akari was forgettable at first glance, but past that…she was the most incredibly accepting, loving person that Chinatsu had ever met. Even though Himawari had only been following her motherly instincts in trying to support Akari through her touch, Chinatsu's mind had immediately gone into survival mode, which, for Chinatsu, entailed keeping Akari close to her no matter the cost.

Part of her (that same part of her that wondered if her possessiveness was normal) wondered if such a reaction to something as unthreatening as a concerned touch was _really _necessary or even acceptable (where did her rights as a friend end?), but again, Chinatsu didn't overly concern herself.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, Yui called it, which was good for Himawari, who was beginning to turn a rather unhealthy shade of purple as Sakurako (who was like the energizer bunny up until the instant she totally crashed) slumped in Kyouko's arms, nodding in and out of sleep.

"That color suits you," Chinatsu quipped, still unreasonably sore from Himawari's perceived closeness with Akari, who was herself beginning to fall asleep against the pinkette's shoulder, more exhausted by the roller coaster ride of emotions she'd endured tonight than physically tired from the long trip to the hotel. "What is it? Eggplant? Goes with your hair. Maybe Sakurako should cuddle up with Kyouko-senpai more often."

Chinatsu was well aware of the fact that her catty side was out and scratching, but for some reason, she couldn't bite the words back. Moreover, she couldn't even try—every word that escaped from her lips made her feel just a little bit better, a little bit more in control, though of what, she couldn't say for the life of her.

Himawari narrowed her eyes at the pinkette, but didn't reply right away, which made Chinatsu slightly nervous. Despite her annoyance with the bluenette, Chinatsu had to admit that Himawari was incredibly intelligent—the pinkette had undoubtedly pissed her off with her behavior over the evening, particularly with that last dare, and any time a pissed off genius started_ thinking_…well, it might be time to call it a night.

"I don't think you're really one to talk, Yoshikawa-san…do you?"

Himawari's words were soft, and low enough that only Chinatsu could hear them, but the pinkette felt them like a slap in the face. What the hell did Himawari mean by _that_? "What the hell do you—" She cut herself off as Akari stirred against her shoulder, cutting the argument (?) short.

"Is it time to go to bed?" Akari asked groggily, clearly just barely keeping herself from toppling over with sleepiness. Chinatsu smiled involuntarily at the sight and stood up, playfully holding her hand out to her best friend to pull her to her (unsteady) feet.

"How forward of you, Akari-chan," she teased, winking at the redhead, who instantly flushed to match her hair.

"W-I didn't…_mou_, Chinatsu-chan!"

The pinkette threw her head back and laughed as Akari huffed and left the room ahead of her. Chinatsu hesitated just long enough to throw a confused look in Himawari's direction (the bluenette was now raising an eyebrow, which made Chinatsu uncomfortable for whatever reason) before scrambling out the door after Akari, remembering that the redhead had the only card to unlock their room.

* * *

Himawari felt her heart preparing to burst out of her chest as Sakurako curled into her, burying her face in the bluenette's breasts, arms wrapped tightly around Himawari's midsection, as if she thought the bluenette may just try to escape.

She knew it would be awkward in the morning, but the tingles still lingering in her system convinced her to let tomorrow deal with that. Besides that, jealousy was still burning in her chest at having been forced to watch Sakurako getting cozy with Kyouko, and she didn't believe she could have pried herself away in this state if she'd tried. It wasn't molten, as it had been when the dare had been given (she'd been sorely tempted to slap the superior smirk off of Chinatsu's face, but had managed to restrain herself), but the image of Sakurako bouncing around in Kyouko's lap was burned into her retinas, and the jealousy was a persistent, dull ache even now that the threat was gone.

As such, Himawari barely fought instinct for five minutes before giving in and wrapping her arms around Sakurako in return, pressing a firm kiss to the sleeping blonde's head. If nothing else, she could always just blame it on the alcohol.

Ignoring, of course, the fact that she hadn't had a single drop since the game began. Sakurako had, along with Kyouko, topped off the rest of the smuggled bottle, so Himawari doubted she would remember any of this in the morning anyway. The fact that she was cuddling with the bluenette (while conscious) was evidence enough of her questionable state of sobriety.

This particular though made Himawari's chest ache-it would be too much to ask, after all, for Sakurako to willingly cuddle with her, or even let her show any kind of affection while sober. It was getting more and more difficult as they grew older, the urge to act on her long-standing feelings for her idiot of a best friend growing stronger and stronger every day. Being the protective and motherly type, Himawari wanted to show affection for Sakurako, but knew that the blonde would react badly, even in private.

She sighed heavily, allowing her head to fall back against the pillow. Sakurako curled more tightly into her, and Himawari's left arm instinctively raised to curl in the chestnut-blonde hair, gently working through the light tangles the girl had managed to acquire over the course of their day.

Really, it was her own fault for falling in love with an idiot.

* * *

**So, Akari's finally accepted these feelings she's been having in regards to Chinatsu, and Chinatsu's feeling…well, **_**something**_**. I'm sorry for the length of this—I know truth or dare is supposed to be short and sweet, but I keep getting on a roll…I'll try and speed it up next chapter, promise :P**

**Please leave a review! I hope you enjoyed it! :)**


	8. The Road to Comuket

**Wow, guys! Thanks so much for all the awesome reviews! I really love hearing what parts of the story you guys liked, and while it's never easy to receive critique, I really do appreciate you guys pointing out what I can do better, because it makes me a better writer :) I've gone back and edited this for run-ons and such, so it should hopefully read a little easier :)**

* * *

**Even the Stars Grown Older**

**Seven: The Road to Comuket**

* * *

Sakurako woke slowly, still half dreaming as she stretched her back and pulled her legs close to her chest. Her arms tightened around something firm and warm, and a soft, contended mewl escaped her lips. The blonde nuzzled closer to her makeshift body pillow, burying her face further into something plush and sweet-smelling.

And then Sakurako's body pillow shifted, before jerking violently against the blonde, and suddenly she was completely awake. Even at her questionable state of consciousness, she was _fairly_ certain that pillows couldn't sneeze, nor did they have arms that could tighten around her waist when they did so. That and after more than ten years of friendship, she recognized Himawari's loud, yet feminine sneeze. As the reality of her sleeping arrangements finally dawned on her, Sakurako felt her face heat up all the way to the tips of her ears.

Said bluenette groaned and pulled Sakurako closer to her, apparently still 90% asleep, and the blonde flushed even deeper as she realized just what she'd been burying her face in. She pulled her hands up between herself and Himawari, poised against her chest, ready to shove the bluenette away... And then stopped at the last second, amber eyes drifting subconsciously to full, slightly parted lips. Her gaze then drifted to the bedside table, where a bottle of asprin and a cup of water waited, and she frowned. The bluenette hadn't had a sip of alcohol besides the initial shot that Kyouko had forced on them. Sakurako was certain _she _hadn't thought far enough ahead to prepare herself for the headache she was bound to get (and felt looming over her, especially as her thoughts gradually became more concrete)… Did that mean…had Himawari prepared these for her, knowing how she'd feel in the morning?

Himawari was apparently still too asleep to have noticed Sakurako's movements, and just wrapped her other arm around the blonde, pulling her closer.

Sakurako hadn't taken much time to really _look _at her frienemy since…well, _ever_, really, and suddenly she found herself wondering how the hell she'd managed that for so many years. The bluenette had matured ridiculously gracefully, especially in comparison to Sakurako herself. Though that bit hadn't been much of a surprise, even Sakurako had to (reluctantly) admit. What _had _come as a surprise to the blonde was just how desirable Himawari actually was, big picture, both physically and personality-wise. Sakurako hadn't noticed before, but the attention Himawari had immediately garnered at Nanamori High by both male and female students alike had forced the girl to acknowledge that her friend was at the very least more attractive than the majority of the population. Still, she'd never actually _looked _at Himawari as anything more than a rival or her own personal tutor/slave.

But Himawari wasn't just attractive, and there was no other word for it—Sakurako had checked—she was _beautiful_. She was taller than a good portion of girls at their school, but not nearly so tall as to be awkward. The bluenette had also grown more proportionate, her hips catching up to her breasts, and her body filling out enough so that said breasts no longer appeared disproportionate, without adding a lot of excess fat in other areas. She'd grown out her hair, and it now reached her chest when braided. It had also grown darker with age, now a rich navy as opposed to pure blue. She was as stupidly kind to everyone (except Sakurako) as ever (which was really starting to annoy the blonde because it meant _everyone _was always going to Himawari for _everything_, which meant the bluenette had less time for her). On top of it all, she seemed to be growing more intelligent with every passing year, juggling her own college-level courses with a 4.0, all the while keeping Sakurako at a steady C+ average. And the only reason it wasn't higher was because Sakurako was just flat-out lazy, something Himawari had (reluctantly) grown to accept.

Himawari grumbled something about 'stupid tomato stealing my chicken' into Sakurako's sleep-mussed hair. The bluenette had apparently made the short leap back to sleep. Somehow the fact that Himawari was so perfect in everything else but was so completely out of it right after she woke up only added to her attractiveness… Not that Sakurako was attracted to her at all, of course. Just because Himawari had everyone else fooled with her sickly-sweet façade didn't mean Sakurako was dumb enough to fall for it. The great Sakurako-sama was incredibly perceptive, after all.

With that thought, Sakurako's left eye twitched—how dare Himawari make her think about stupid things that she didn't even care about? Sudden irritation sparked within her, and the blonde finally completed her action from before and reeled back, shoving her hands into her best frienemy's chest, near her sternum. The action propelled Himawari away from her and right off the bed, eliciting a squeal from the girl in question as she was violently awoken.

Sakurako huffed and yanked the covers over her shoulders, turning her back to the other girl, intent on going back to sleep and forgetting all of this. Slowly, though, the temperature in the room began to fall, and Sakurako felt a shiver run down her spine. A shadow loomed over her, blocking out the sparse light seeping in through the window. "_Sa-ku-ra-ko000…_"

Instinct kicked in and the now terrified blonde sat up and faced a furious Himawari, chest puffed in misplaced self-righteousness. "If you don't want to be kicked off the bed, you should keep your fat chest to yourself," she huffed, ignoring the hypocrisy of her own statement. "Geez, you're so clingy."

Himawari flushed an intense magenta, and something Sakurako didn't recognize flashed in her hazel eyes. Unfortunately, whatever it was, it did nothing to lessen the rage (augmented by Himawari's typical morning grumpiness) that had been present when Sakurako had first turned to face her. "You…," the bluenette began, eyes narrow and lips pursed as if she couldn't quite believe Sakurako had actually _kicked her off the bed_, "_you_ are _dead_." She finished with a strange chuckle, running a hand through her thick, loose hair that was tangled with sleep. Seeing Himawari looking so improper would have been funny, if Sakurako weren't currently fearing for her young life.

"H-heh…you're funny, Himawari," Sakurako laughed nervously. "You're not really mad at me, right? It was funny, right?"

Himawari crawled closer to the blonde, eyes flashing, and Sakurako paled. She had a sudden, ominous feeling she'd be needing that asprin for more reasons than one.

Sometimes even_ she _wished she thought before opening her big mouth.

* * *

Nobody questioned it when Sakurako arrived to breakfast (Himawari swaying beside her in her usual morning slump) with a large lump decorating the top of her head. Everybody just assumed (rightfully so) that the blonde had done something stupid again, and it was too early in the morning to make any kind of deal out of such a common occurrence. It seemed to be the general consensus that husband-wife comedy wasn't funny before eleven am.

"So, it should probably take us about three more hours to get to Comuket," Yui stated over her sparse breakfast of half of a hotel waffle (straight from the batter cup—ah, luxury) and an orange. Next to her sat Chinatsu, who looked almost as bad as Himawari, and was threatening to fall face-first into her bowl of cereal.

Taking care of the pinkette was usually Akari's job, but the redhead had been preoccupied inside her own head since the night before. More pity might have been spared on Chinatsu was it not (mostly) her fault that Akari was in this odd state to begin with, a fact the majority of the girls appeared to be aware of, save for the pinkette herself, Sakurako and (possibly?) Kyouko.

Actually, Akari's odd behavior was the main reason Chinatsu looked so terrible to begin with—that and the fact that she'd split the remaining alcohol with Kyouko (who looked ridiculously perky) and Sakurako (the main cause of whose suffering was impossible to tell). The pinkette had been up for most of the rest of the night (until well past two in the morning) worrying about her normally plucky, upbeat friend who never seemed to dwell on anything negative for more than a minute or two. It was obviously Kyouko's fault (as was pretty much everything, in Chinatsu's humble opinion), as the blonde had been the one bothering Akari the night before to begin with. (She was steadfastly ignoring the fact that Akari had seemed to perk up after her kiss with the blonde, and if anything returned to her odd behavior after her kiss with Chinatsu herself).

Still, Akari didn't usually let anything get to her, and now…the redhead hadn't looked the pinkette in the eye since that game of truth or dare. Even when they had gone to bed last night, it almost seemed as though Akari were purposefully positioning herself as far from Chinatsu as possible. This was weird in and of itself, because while Akari almost never initiated any cuddling or affection, she never pulled away or seemed to mind at all when the more outgoing Chinatsu did so. It had hurt, just a little bit, and her wounded pride was just injured deeper when a passing Himawari squeezed Akari's shoulder and the latter didn't jump two feet in the air and jerk away.

Like she had the night before when _Chinatsu_ had tried to initiate contact.

(Although from the majority of the girls' perspective, Chinatsu's subsequent glare at the bluenette looked a lot more like possessiveness than it did hurt. This was exemplified when the pinkette reached under the table and rested her hand on Akari's leg in an unspoken challenge poorly disguised as casual affection. But it was normal to feel threatened when somebody else got too close to your best friend, right? It wasn't as if it had to mean anything more—Chinatsu would know if it did, obviously, having been in love with Yui for the entirety of her middle school life. And she really _was _worried about Akari, which was totally why she kept holding on even when Akari jumped like Chinatsu was some kind of random creep tried to pull away. Except she wasn't nearly as determined as the pinkette, nor as strong, so she didn't get very far.)

"Do I_ have_ to ride in the same car as Himawari again?" Sakurako whined, cradling her aching head. Even _she_ wasn't certain whether the worst of the pain came from her hangover or the blow Himawari had dealt to her head.

The bluenette's eyes narrowed in annoyance, though said annoyance barely concealed the hurt behind it. Huffing, she folded her arms over her chest and raised her chin in false superiority. "Please don't," she replied haughtily. "In fact, I would much rather ride with Yoshikawa-san than a bumbling brat such as yourself."

From across the table, Chinatsu raised her eyebrows suspiciously. She had been (and still was) fairly certain that Himawari had been annoyed with her for whatever stupid reason over the entirety of their trip so far, and was _positive _the bluenette hadn't forgotten about last night. Himawari's last words to her from the night before rang in her ears, and she swallowed thickly, suddenly filled with a combination of curiosity and dread. There was no doubt the bluenette was trying to annoy Sakurako, but Chinatsu was equally certain that Himawari meant to talk to her about whatever problem she had with the pinkette. It wasn't as if they could ignore it forever. Steeling herself to the inevitable, she met Himawari's gaze and raised an eyebrow, refusing to back down from the challenge.

Next to Himawari, and surprisingly not oblivious to the non-verbal communication occurring between the bluenette and Chinatsu, Sakurako's grip on her fork tightened as she stabbed it mercilessly into her toast. What did Himawari love so much about Chinatsu, anyway? Besides that, surely she knew what a bitch she was, especially over the course of the past few days? Sakurako huffed loudly, causing Himawari's eyes to flit to her for just a moment.

The bluenette's right hand twitched in her lap, as if her instinct was to reach out and touch Sakurako, who was obviously upset by her declaration, and was doing little to nothing to hide it. But she stopped herself, clenching the hand into a fist in her lap. If Sakurako wanted a fight, who was Himawari to deny her? Still, as hazel eyes returned to her own plate, something in her stomach clenched, simultaneously sapping her appetite and leaving her with the distinct urge to hold Sakurako—just to be _closer_ to the girl. She bit her lip, hard, refusing to look at the blonde. It was happening more and more often recently, and it could be stimulated by just about anything; a glance, a huff, a stupid comment… And _God _help her if Sakurako smiled or laughed, genuinely. At those times, it was all Himawari could do not to throw her against a wall and hold her impossibly close and kiss her (_and kiss her_).

Himawari sighed heavily, stirring at her eggs with no intent of actually consuming them. Absently, she wondered how many years' worth of built up, belligerent sexual tension was acceptable to retain in one body before it became hazardous to one's health.

* * *

They did end up splitting into different groups for the remainder of the car ride, as neither Sakurako nor Himawari were willing to swallow their pride and admit they'd rather ride with each other. Besides that, the bluenette really did have a bit of an alternate agenda. She figured it was high time she had a little talk with a certain increasingly disagreeable pinkette.

She and Chinatsu had never had issues getting along in the past, and Himawari did love the girl dearly as a friend. It was just that with recent developments and Akari's increasingly obvious feelings for the oblivious pinkette, the bluenette wanted to know what exactly Chinatsu was doing, or if she was even aware she was doing anything at all. Her behavior would have been perfectly acceptable a while ago, back when Akari seemed content just to be the sweet, reliable friend, but now…

Even if Akari herself wasn't aware of it, Himawari wanted to make sure that Chinatsu's affectionate and possessive tendencies weren't doing more harm than good. Sweet, innocent Akari deserved nothing less than the best after everything she'd done for them all over the years, as she was sure Chinatsu would agree. It was just that she wasn't entirely sure if Chinatsu was really aware of what she did to the redhead, or if the pinkette would be able to separate her own needs from her desire for Akari to be happy. The last thing she wanted poor Akari to have to go through was being inadvertently led on…although the pinkette's recent behavior had Himawari becoming gradually more convinced that this may not be the case at all.

She just had to come up with a clever way of broaching all this to the pinkette without her noticing. Easier said than done, Himawari knew. For all her attitude and her deceptively flighty nature, Chinatsu was very likely just as intelligent as Himawari herself, as the bluenette had discovered after recently provoking her less charitable side. Which reminded her, first things first…she had to get back on the pinkette's good side. Not that she liked being on such odd terms with Chinatsu, but usually she might have let things mend themselves…

Himawari sighed and leaned back against the soft, warm leather seat as Ayano slid into the driver's seat and turned the key. This might prove to be a long three hours all around.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked this chapter! Please remember to leave me a review! Reviews are food for my soul o.O**


	9. Building Bridges, Paving Roads

**Just realized it's been another week since I've updated-I swear I don't do this on purpose xP It's just that the weekends are the only time I have to slow down and look at things :P **

**Long, mushy bonding chapter is long. And mushy. But not as mushy as kitty innards o.O **

**Ah, the glamorous life of a vet tech student...  
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**ANYWAY, I hope you guys enjoy it, and please leave me a review! :)**

* * *

**Even the Stars Grown Older**

**Eight: Building Bridges, Paving Roads**

* * *

Sakurako huffed as the station wagon flew over another bump, and cried out in pain as her head made contact with the window. Hard.

"Owww! Damnit, stupid booby monster!" she exclaimed without thinking, her hand flying out to her right only to come into contact with something warm and hard. Frowning, she turned to find Akari hunched over beside her, and her eyes widened as she realized what she'd done. "Oh…sorry, Akari-chan," she said, sheepishly. Now that they'd grown up, Akari was not only…smaller…than Himawari, but shorter than her as well, meaning that Sakurako's aim, which would have been perfect had it been the bluenette sitting beside her, had caught the shorter girl in the chin.

"Ah…it's alright, Sakurako-chan," Akari replied, kindly, though she was tearing at the corners of her eyes as she rubbed her chin. Her gaze rested on the dirty-blonde, watching as Sakurako's apologetic expression quickly morphed back into the blank gaze it had been for the past half hour or so. "Um…" She paused, not wanting to upset her friend, but worried about her. "Are…are you sure you wouldn't rather be with Himawari?"

Sakurako huffed loudly. "Why would I want to be with that stupid, clingy booby monster?" she replied, looking at the redhead as though she were crazy to have even suggested such a thing.

"Um…clingy?" Akari's kind features morphed into a small frown. As far as she could tell, the two girls had been just as much at odds as ever this morning. And unless she was _very_ mistaken, the lump that had adorned Sakurako's crown earlier had looked very much like Himawari's handiwork. "Did…did something happen between you two?"

The change in atmosphere was instant. Sakurako, who'd been wearing a look of annoyance, instantly flushed crimson, tightening her arms around herself and fixing her gaze steadfastly out the window. "Nothing," she muttered. "Just stupid Himawari being an idiot as usual."

Akari smiled weakly, mentally sweat-dropping. As much as she loved all of her friends, she was fairly sure there was some _slight _hypocrisy in that particular statement. "Did you two get in a fight?" she asked, tentatively. It was always shaky ground any of them walked on when asking either Himawari or Sakurako about the other.

The blonde huffed, though her face was still slightly red. The silence was punctuated at odd intervals by Kyouko, who was being…Kyouko…and Yui, who was being harassed by Kyouko.

Sexually, if their dialogue was anything to go by.

_"Kyouko! Don't put your hand there!"_

_ "Hmmm~? While you're driving, you mean?"_

_ "At_ all_!"_

After a long moment, Sakurako spoke. "No…," she mumbled. "I just…when I woke up, she was...you know…she had her arms…she was _cuddling_ me." Her face flushed a brilliant crimson, and she refused to meet Akari's gaze. "And I got kind of freaked out," forgetting to mention the appreciative journey her eyes had made over the bluenette's body, "and might have…shoved her off the bed."

Akari blinked. Well, that certainly explained the lump. And Himawari's behavior, if Sakurako was to be believed, wasn't too horribly out of character, considering how groggy the bluenette tended to be in the morning. Himawari was also considered to be more aware of her own feelings in general, so the fact that she may have unconsciously acted according to those feelings wasn't exactly shocking. What was a little bit shocking was how oblivious Sakurako still was to her own feelings, even now that they were all in their late teens.

"Oh…" Akari said, not knowing how to reply. Sakurako was fidgeting, and Akari got the distinct impression that there was more the girl wanted to say.

_"Not _there, _Kyouko!"_

_ "Ha-ha-ha, tickle was supereffective~"_

_ "What the hell does that even _mean_?"_

"Promise you won't tell Himawari?"

Akari frowned. "Tell her what?"

"Just promise!" Sakurako insisted, her gaze finding Akari's, and the redhead was surprised to find confusion and desperation in her expression. She nodded. "It…it might…," Sakurako began, her cheeks turning even darker. "Itmightnothavebeen_completely_terrible."

It took Akari a moment to process the hurried statement. It had come out like one particularly long word, but after breaking the word up in her mind, comprehension dawned in her magenta eyes. "Oh!" Noting Sakurako's obvious embarrassment, Akari forced herself to bite down her own shock—shock that came not so much from the realization that Sakurako had liked cuddling with Himawari, but from Sakurako actually _admitting _such. "I mean, isn't it normal?" she asked, meaning to reassure the other girl. "I feel that way with Chinatsu whenever we hug or—"

She cut herself off. _Bad example, Akari-chan! _But her words seemed to reassure the ever oblivious Sakurako, who brightened, normal color returning to her face.

"Really?"

"Um…" Akari suddenly had the distinct feeling that by consoling the girl, she'd allowed Sakurako to take several steps backwards in the process of recognizing her feelings for what they were. "Well…" She couldn't think of a way to push Sakurako in the right direction (toward the long-suffering Himawari) without revealing her own feelings, and Sakurako wasn't exactly known for her ability to keep her mouth shut.

Sighing and mentally apologizing to Himawari on the inside, on the outside, Akari smiled at Sakurako. "Yes, really. All the time."

_It's not a_ lie_, at least._

* * *

The tension in the backseat of the little purple Bug was stifling. Thankfully, Chitose was keeping Ayano preoccupied enough, seemingly aware of the situation in the backseat, but that was small comfort to the two girls dreading the conversation that was about to occur. Even Chinatsu, who usually had no qualms with confrontation, was unwilling to begin this particular altercation. She and Himawari were best friends, after all—on a different level than she and Akari were, but that was…special. While Chinatsu had no problem taking on strangers or other students in a proper tongue-lashing, she treasured the friends she had.

Still, as pissed as Himawari was at her, she was just as annoyed with the bluenette, who she felt had been needlessly oblivious when it came to Chinatsu's annoyance over her closeness with Akari. As much as she loathed to admit it, she knew (_knew_) that Himawari was perfectly aware of the reason behind Chinatsu's (unfounded or otherwise) aggravation with her. The bluenette was too smart and, moreover, too perceptive not to have figured out as much. And that's what got Chinatsu.

She _knew_, and yet…

"You seem to be annoyed with me recently, Yoshikawa-san," Himawari noted, interrupting her thoughts. Chinatsu tensed, eyeing the bluenette through narrowed blue eyes. Himawari had reverted to formalities—that much was unsurprising, given the circumstances. What was surprising—no, what was _annoying—_was that she was still playing dumb. Chinatsu didn't trust the calm, clueless attitude. "May I ask why?"

"I think you know why," Chinatsu replied shortly. She wasn't going to have this conversation if Himawari was going to drag her around in circles the whole time. "May _I _ask why you're playing dumb when _both_ of us know you better than that?"

The bluenette sighed, rubbing her temples. "I don't want to argue with you, Chinatsu-chan," she said, dropping her formal demeanor. "I realize that you're upset with me and I think I know why. What I don't understand is why you're suddenly so possessive of Akari-chan. Care to explain?" Her eyes found the pinkette's and held them as she raised one eyebrow.

Chinatsu huffed, wanting desperately to turn her gaze out the window and sulk, but unwilling to let Himawari win this little staring war. She stared back defiantly. "I don't think it's that weird to be a little…protective…of my relationship with my best friend," she stated dryly. "How would you feel if it were me with my grubby hands all over Sakurako?"

At this, Himawari rolled her eyes so far back they almost disappeared into her head. She broke the stare, but now Chinatsu didn't want to look away. She wanted to hear Himawari's answer. "As much as I hate to admit it, you and I both know that Sakurako and myself are a poor example for you to use in defense of your behavior." She flushed slightly, folding her arms beneath her chest, unwittingly emphasizing her chest as she stared down at her lap.

Chinatsu's head jerked back reflexively and she flushed as she realized the implications of what she'd said. She recovered quickly, however, and instead stared at the blue-haired girl to her left. Himawari was still staring down at her lap, refusing to meet her gaze, and Chinatsu felt a sudden twinge of sympathy for her. If it wasn't apparent before, it was crystal clear now that Himawari was very much aware of her feelings for Sakurako, and on top of that was aware that everyone _else _was aware as well. It was Sakurako—stupid, thick-headed Sakurako—who was completely unaware of how she felt, and Chinatsu could only imagine how that obliviousness hurt the more mature bluenette.

"And here we were thinking neither of you would ever admit it," Chinatsu said, somewhat lightheartedly, aiming for a joke. All she got for her effort was a small twitch at the corner of Himawari's lips. She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry I was a bitch," she continued, switching back to the original topic. "I just…I mean, look at me. Friends don't come easily to me, especially friends like Akari, who's always just so nice and so understanding and so accepting no matter _how _I fuck up." She took a deep, steadying breath. "I guess I don't usually get put into situations where I feel like I'll lose her, or else I probably would've reacted just as badly."

Himawari, who had picked her head up and quelled most of her embarrassment by this point, watched her. "I understand…but, Chinatsu-chan…what if Akari finds someone? Someone who may do much more than put a hand on her back to comfort her, I mean," she prodded, watching the pinkette carefully. She meant to gauge Chinatsu's reaction, to try and pinpoint the other girl's feelings for Akari, at least a little bit. If Chinatsu was just being immature and possessive as a friend, Himawari could help to spare Akari's heart, maybe help her find someone else… But if Chinatsu _wasn't _just being selfish, if she _wasn't _just behaving like a spoilt child…

And it seemed as though perhaps she wasn't, because as soon as the words escaped her lips, an almost physical change had come over the pinkette. She was rigid, hands clenched into fists at her side, her body no longer slumped lazily against the car door. Her jaw was tight, her lips pressed into a thin line and her eyes…her e_yes _were what made Himawari think twice. There was annoyance, and anger, but mostly there was something else, something Himawari had seen enough times in the mirror to know wasn't just childish possessiveness of a friend.

She didn't push it when Chinatsu didn't reply right away. She doubted the girl had ever even _considered_ seeing Akari as anything more than a friend, despite the fact that Himawari herself could tell that it was at the very least more than a normal friendship. Akari was always just so _there_, so willing to help, so loving that Chinatsu had never had to second-guess their relationship.

Still, no normal friend would have put up with Chinatsu's bitchiness and entertained obsessive tendencies toward a middle school crush. No normal friend would object so readily and vehemently to a simple touch on the back. It wouldn't surprise Himawari at all (in fact, she was now more than halfway convinced) if Chinatsu's feelings for Akari did extend at least a little bit past 'best-friend'. And as for Chinatsu's obliviousness to the possibility…well, Himawari wasn't exactly stunned. Besides an obvious schoolgirl crush on Yui, which was very apparently superficial, Chinatsu had never shown any indication of having feelings for anyone else. Frankly, it wouldn't surprise Himawari if the pinkette didn't even recognize any romantic feelings outside of the obsessive crush she'd harbored for their dark-haired senpai.

Storing this information for later, Himawari returned her attention to Chinatsu, who was visibly upset. The bluenette felt slightly guilty—she'd wanted to get a read on the pinkette, not upset her this badly. But right as she was about to change the topic and hopefully draw Chinatsu out of the half stupefied state she'd sunk into, the pinkette opened her mouth to speak.

"He better treat her right," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. Himawari raised an eyebrow. _He?_ Of course, besides her increasingly obvious feelings for Chinatsu, Akari had never given any indication of being attracted to anyone, and heterosexuality was far and away the norm. Himawari realized this might be another reason the pinkette had never bothered to take a second to step back and really think about the relationship she had with the redhead. "If he doesn't, I swear to God…"

"It was just an example, Chinatsu-chan," Himawari consoled her. Her voice seemed to break Chinatsu out of her thoughts, and the pinkette blinked hard, as if to clear her head. "But…perhaps you should think about that. You have certain rights as Akari's best friend, but…you should be careful you don't overextend them. Maybe think about how Akari feels next time?"

Here, Chinatsu flushed deeply, humiliated. She hadn't even thought about that. What if Akari had been comforted by Himawari's touch? Something inside her twisted at the thought of it, but she forced herself to swallow it back, and it settled heavy in her chest, where she could ignore it, if only for the time being. "You're right," she finally said, leaning her head against the window. "Of course. Akari's just so…so…" Her brow furrowed, her perfectly straight, slightly upturned nose (that bore just the most trace sprinkling of pale freckles) wrinkling in thought.

_Special. _But something was keeping her from saying the word aloud, something telling her to stop right there. She didn't understand it—what was wrong with calling her best friend special? Why did it feel like a secret?

"I know," Himawari said, sparing Chinatsu from spontaneous mental combustion from all the thoughts rocketing around her mind at once.

I_ know, but I doubt _you _do._

* * *

It was midday when they reached the hotel where they'd be staying for the duration of Comiket.

"Okay, so we'll drop our stuff off in our rooms and then head to Comiket so Kyouko can sign in and set up," Yui said, hoisting her bag, as well as Kyouko's, over her shoulder. The blonde had dropped said bag the second they'd entered through the revolving doors, and was currently flitting about the lobby, dragging a flustered (but not entirely reluctant) Ayano along by the wrist.

Akari glanced over at her friends as she walked in behind the other three girls. Ayano's party had arrived slightly beforehand, as Kyouko had gotten overexcited and chugged an entire bottle of soda and one thing led to another which led to three bathroom breaks for Yui's group. Sakurako, much like Kyouko, seemed to be very excited, and was tugging at Himawari's elbow in a manner reminiscent of a child, and a small smile crept onto Akari's lips. Despite all her bluster, Sakurako couldn't stand to be on truly bad terms with the bluenette-she'd been fidgeting for much of the car ride, and only now seemed to be returning to herself. As for Chinatsu...Akari's magenta eyes strayed to their true target, almost like paper clips to a magnet. She and Himawari seemed to have come to an agreement of some sort on the ride over. They were standing a few yards off, chatting amiably enough, the bluenette fairly easily resisting Sakurako's attempts to pull her away.

Akari felt a weight lift from her heart, which, combined with the now familiar swelling in her chest whenever she looked at her best friend, left her with an addicting, almost euphoric sensation. She was glad her friends had made up (though she had no idea what had them shooting each other nasty looks and making snarky comments to begin with). Being her usual, unobtrusive self, Akari was terrified of what would soon be coming-college, real life...separating from the group of girls she'd come to see as family... She felt lucky to be a part of this, even as Sakurako yanked an indignant Himawari toward the candy counter, and Yui smacked Kyouko upside the head for saying something that had made Ayano go roughly the same color as her hair. If not for them, she certainly would have been left alone and friendless, as insignificant as she was. She didn't know how she'd managed to be a part of it, and she was positive she wouldn't manage it again.

Somewhere deep inside her, she wished this summer would never end.

But it would, and they would go their separate ways (excepting perhaps for Himawari and Sakurako, as the universe had proven time and time again), and Akari would be alone, without Yui or Kyouko, or any of the rest.

Without Chinatsu.

She was positive Chinatsu would be popular. The pinkette would have no problem winning over the world just a couple short years from now, and then what would she need Akari for? What would she need a lovesick best friend for, when she could have her choice of any person in the world to replace her?

All at once, Akari came to her senses and shook her head, hard, just barely swallowing back the urge to hit herself. What was she doing, thinking like that? Since when did she mope over being invisible, or left out? She was Akari-bright, cheerful, helpful Akari. She couldn't let her worries weigh her down; her friends were sure to notice eventually, no matter how translucent she was.

Unbeknownst to her, one person had already noticed, and was currently watching her with confused ice-blue eyes, a look of intense concern etched into sharp, achingly pretty features.

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**Sorry, I know it's going slow :( If I'm not rushing things, I end up focusing on little, detailed scenes and it ends up taking me forever to reach the end Dx This fic isn't even close to being done...I'm just writing what feels right, like I usually do.  
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**Anyway, thank you for all your awesome reviews- I appreciate them all :) I've said this a million times but it really does motivate me to continue :) It makes me feel like I've got at least ONE thing in my life I can do right—since apparently I'm no good at assisting in surgeries :P—to know that you guys enjoy reading this! :) That's part of the reason I like writing fanfiction—it's therapeutic :)**


	10. Touch

**Happy 2016, errybody. Hope you guys had a great holiday :) Sorry I didn't get this out much sooner :(**

* * *

**Even the Stars Grow Older**

**Nine: Touch**

* * *

Himawari was confused.

Ever since they had met up at the hotel about an hour before, Sakurako had been acting…well, for lack of a better term, _weird_(er than usual).

Himawari had, in fact, been forced into a _very _revealing Rivalun costume, as had Ayano, by an overeager Kyouko, who seemed determined to make this the ultimate Comiket (she questioned the blonde's motives here—surely, with her hair color, she would have made a better pre-transformation version). Sakurako, who was playing her counterpart, had settled into the chair next to her as they took their turn manning the booth. She seemed more fidgety than usual, which was saying something, and her fingers seemed to twitch every time Himawari leaned over her to hand out a comic. More to the point, every time the bluenette did _anything_, she could feel amber eyes tracing the action, only to narrow beneath furrowed brows whenever Himawari caught her in the act. The bluenette wondered whether she'd somehow done something to annoy Sakurako within the few words they'd exchanged since they'd met up again.

Standing to shyly greet a bright-eyed fan, Himawari felt more than saw Sakurako's gaze on her, and _heard _the distinctive crinkling of paper when the emotional girl suddenly hugged her. Returning the hug with little difficulty (emotions was where she excelled, after all), her gaze snapped back to Sakurako, who _had _been sitting cross-legged in her chair (despite the fact that she was wearing a skirt—typical Sakurako), reading and giggling at one of Kyouko's doujinshis. The blonde was now staring hard just past Himawari, her jaw obviously tight, and in her lap sat a _very_ crumpled copy of 'Rival Hearts! Mirakurun'.

Himawari felt her own heart stop abruptly, only to pick up again a second later at triple pace. She knew the last thing she should be doing was getting her hopes up in regards to _anything _related even distantly to Sakurako, but still… Perhaps Sakurako wasn't annoyed with her at all? Maybe it was something…else…that had the blonde acting so strangely...?

"Sakurako?" she asked tentatively as she sat back down, the fan having moved on. The blonde grunted and kept her gaze steadily on the floor, so Himawari ducked down, trying to meet the amber eyes that suddenly seemed to want to look everywhere but at her. She watched them widen as Sakurako saw her, watched pale cheeks light up like a Christmas tree, and felt a twinge of pride in her chest. "Are you alright?"

"I'm _fine_," Sakurako muttered. There was a pregnant pause, and then, "You know, I don't need your help manning this stupid booth." Moody, Himawari noted. Which meant… "All you do is get in the way with your stupid fat boobs."

Despite her concern (and her realization that in her mood, Sakurako was sure to bring up her breasts in some way, shape or form), Himawari's nostrils flared in irritation. "Right, because you've been doing _so _much to help," she snapped. "Maybe you wouldn't have to see my 'fat boobs' so much if _you _handed out some comics once in a while instead to sitting there reading them!" Her face was flushed in embarrassment, her hands clenched into fists. She took a deep breath, and let it out, slowly, in a long-suffering sigh. "Honestly, Sakurako—just _once_, can't you just _tell_ me what's bothering you instead of starting a fight?"

"Why do you care?" Sakurako replied, her tone still sullen. "I meant, you don't have to stay here with me if you want to go and flirt with your number one fan—I'm sure she hasn't gone far."

Himawari had a _very _difficult time fighting back the urge to pull Sakurako into her arms and kiss that thick blonde head of hers. "Are you jealous?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, despite knowing it was bound to set Sakurako off again. Before she could stop herself, she had reached over and brushed a strand of curly blonde hair behind Sakurako's ear, letting her fingers linger for several moments too long.

Himawari's fingers seemed to paint red over Sakurako's face as they moved, the blush finally extending to the blonde's ears. "Don't be an idiot, Himawari!" she snapped, finally coming to her senses enough to shove the bluenette's hand away. "It's disgusting to watch, that's all! If I don't like romance movies, what makes you think I want to watch you mooning all over some nerdy fan at Comiket?"

Himawari frowned, retracting her hand until it curled into her chest. "If you have such an issue with me, Sakurako, why didn't you say something earlier? You could have just manned the stall with Yoshikawa-san."

Sakurako shivered unconsciously. She didn't like to admit it, but sometimes Chinatsu scared her. Like earlier, for example, when Akari had offered to stay and watch the booth with her, and the pinkette had shot her such a nasty look over the redhead's shoulder that Sakurako hadn't _dared _accept. Still, she wasn't about to let stupid Himawari get the last word. "I'd rather be here with Kyouko-senpai," she stated, puffing her chest. "At least she's _fun_."

_Even if she's not nearly as beautiful as you and I don't want to curl up in her lap and bury my head in her b—WHOA, where did _that _come from?_

Not privy to Sakurako's internal dialogue, Himawari flushed with a mixture of indignation and jealousy. She forced a hard breath through her nose, willing her blood to stop boiling. She was usually able to bite it back; she'd had years of practice, with Sakurako being as insensitive as she was. It was a good thing, too, because that despite her calmer nature (or perhaps, in some twisted way, _because_ of it), Himawari was naturally protective and quick to jealousy regarding her idiotic best friend. Hard as it may be to believe, she tended to be even quicker than Sakurako to feel the familiar boiling in her veins when the blonde showed any real interest in somebody else. Sakurako would never let her hear the end of it if she knew, despite her own propensity for tantrums and foot-stomping and the like.

Still, this time, with Himawari already on edge, she was unable to swallow back _all_ of the nasty, burning feeling rising into her throat from her chest like bile. "Well, I'm sorry that I'm not as _fun _as Toshino-senpai," she spat, her unnaturally snappish reaction shocking the blonde a little bit. "Unfortunately for you, though, she'd rather spend time with Sugiura-senpai than you—and I don't _blame_ her."

In the heat of the moment, with her jealousy biting at the back of her throat, she had _meant_ to hurt Sakurako. Still, Himawari didn't expect what happened next.

The blonde's eyes widened, and she recoiled as though she'd been slapped. Himawari felt a sharp pang in her chest at the severity of Sakurako's reaction—she hadn't thought Sakurako _actually _felt anything for Kyouko... Before she could say anything, though, the blonde had stood up so fast that her chair wobbled dangerously before clattering to the floor, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Her body was stiff and her jaw was tight, but looking up at her in a state of stuporous shock, all Himawari's eyes registered was the amber orbs burning into them, glistening and red with unshed tears.

"Sakurako…" What was she going to say? Did she even _want _to say anything? Sakurako's obvious upset at what Himawari had said made the bluenette want to grab her and pull her into her arms and apologize for ever making her so unhappy, but… The words that had caused Sakurako's reaction rang through her ears and kept her from acting.

She wanted to comfort her, but she didn't—wanted to apologize, but _couldn't_. She didn't _want _Sakurako to want anyone but her; she hadn't ever even really, _truly _considered it before now (which she would later realize had been unusually short-sighted of her). The issue had always been that Sakurako was so dense, and didn't show any sign of feelings for _anybody_, and now a passing comment about Kyouko and Ayano had brought her nearly to tears? Himawari was shell-shocked and in the heat of the moment, without having time to step back and think clearly, she was ultimately too selfish to say anything to bring consolation to the girl she loved.

Even after Sakurako had stormed off and Himawari was left alone to process, she couldn't think of what she would have said. She could think of a hundred things she _should _have said, but she couldn't force a one of them past her lips. Her heart had belonged to Sakurako, and Sakurako alone, for so long (for _so _long) that, despite knowing that she _should _just want her beloved to be happy, she literally _couldn't _step back like that, even to console her blonde frienemy when she was so clearly distraught.

She couldn't _believe_ she'd never even considered that Sakurako may one day develop feelings for somebody else; she'd gotten jealous, sure, but it was more of a gut reaction, more her body reacting before her brain got the chance. In the back of her mind, she'd always thought that the odds of Sakurako _actually _liking someone else were quite slim, but that reaction…

Himawari let out a long, heavy sigh and allowed her head to fall onto the table. If something didn't happen _soon_, these feelings were going to drive her crazy.

* * *

Across the center, Akari was torn between feeling entirely euphoric and completely confused. Since they had left the hotel, Chinatsu had stuck particularly close to her, even wrapping her arm around the redhead's waist for the duration of the car trip to Comiket, fingers playing at the soft, fabric-covered skin there.

The pinkette currently had her arm locked with Akari's, and refused to let go, as evidenced by the way her arm tightened whenever Akari would give any sign that she might be trying slip away. Judging from the context and Chinatu's demeanor, Akari was fairly certain that the pinkette's excessive (even for her) affection was for her sake, as opposed to Chinatsu's. She just couldn't figure out for the life of her what she had done to warrant such behavior. Maybe it was her aura…?

She _was _feeling slightly more self-conscious and invisible than usual…but for all Chinatsu's strengths, perceptive the girl was not. She wasn't dim, by any means, just...average, or possibly even below, in terms of noticing the little, hidden details. If Akari was acting strangely, the pinkette would notice _eventually_—she wasn't nearly as bad as Sakurako, who practically needed to be hit over the head with a two by four to catch on to _anything_—but it _did _take her some time. And Akari wasn't even acting strangely today! At least, she was pretty sure she wasn't…

And it wasn't as though she minded the extra affection, at all. Akari reveled in the feeling of Chinatsu's arm around her waist, or the sensation of warm skin against her own as their arms mingled. It's just that it wasn't _normal_, even for the naturally affectionate Chinatsu, and it confused Akari.

And that wasn't even counting the completely unsubtle migration to her waist and subsequent tightening of Chinatsu's grip when they'd stopped at that one stall and a boy had stopped Akari to compliment her on her outfit (Kyouko-mandated Mirakurun-wear, of course, though not a full-on costume, thankfully). Chinatsu had quickly headed him off, snapping something that sounded quite emasculating. Akari had to give the boy credit, though, as he shot her a small, understanding smile (of what, though?) and walked off, pride intacct—she'd seen the pinkette drive the toughest boys at their school to tears with less effort.

"_Dumbass," _Chinatsu muttered, and confused though the redhead was, she had to bite back a chuckle. Chinatsu was just, so…_Chinatsu_.

"That was a little mean, Chinatsu-chan," Akari finally said, once she felt like she could talk properly. Chinatsu looked at her incredulously. "What?"

"What—he was _hitting_ on you, you know that, right?" The pinkette had come to an abrupt stop, jerking Akari with her due to their linked arms.

Akari's brows furrowed for a moment, and then she flushed full-on fire-engine red as Chinatsu's blunt words hit her like a ton of bricks. "Wh- I- really?" she stuttered, her eyes widening to the size of saucers. She'd never been hit on before, and, she secretly thought with just a hint of bitterness, was more likely to blend into the wallpaper than stand out enough to someone for anyone to actually try to make a move. Thus, only one word came to her confused mind. "But…_why_?"  
At this, Chinatu's eyebrows furrowed, and she suddenly looked inexplicably angry. "What do you—oh, forget it," she said in a huff, abruptly starting to walk again, yanking Akari along behind her. She was leading them in the opposite direction they'd been headed, toward a large, cafeteria-like area. Akari felt her chest tighten, and not in the vaguely pleasant way it had been around Chinatsu recently. The pinkette seemed legitimately angry about something, and while this wasn't anything new in itself, her refusal to divulge the cause to Akari was something very uncharacteristic.

Akari wasn't left to worry for long, however. She'd been firmly ordered to sit at a two-person table they'd come across while Chinatsu veritably marched up to the register. The redhead allowed herself to watch the pinkette bully her way past the line of socially awkward otaku (one-hit KO, as Kyouko would have said—the majority of the customers had been cringing in fear of the pretty, confident Chinatsu even before she opened her mouth) for just a moment, unable to keep the fond feeling from welling up in her chest. Chinatsu could be such a bully, and Akari was sure it felt awful to be on the receiving end, but…what most people didn't know (and never would) was that deep down, Chinatsu was an amazing person. Protective, kind, funny…she'd been the best friend Akari had ever had in all of her sixteen years.

And still, selfishly, Akari wanted more. Selfish, because what did she have to offer? She wasn't cool, or particularly skilled at anything, and she tended to blend in with her surroundings more often than not. She'd thought it a hundred times on this trip, but still the mocking voice taunted her, as if it thought she hadn't tortured herself enough.

_What could a pretty, popular girl like Chinatsu ever see in someone like you? You're lucky she even wants to be your _friend_. How dare you want more?_

A loud clang snapped Akari from her self-deprecating thoughts as Chinatsu plopped unceremoniously into the seat opposite her. "I swear some of these morons have never heard of _soap_," she muttered, narrowing her eyes at the line she'd just escaped. She wrinkled her nose cutely, lifting the collar of her flowy blouse and sniffing before pulling back in disgust. "Now I reek of Cheetos and nerd-sweat."

"Chinatsu-chan!" Akari chided, though her giggles rendered it more or less invalid. She wanted to tell the pinkette that she smelled wonderful. Quite contrary to Cheetos and otaku-essence, Chinatsu's scent was warm, sweet and welcoming—cherry blossoms and vanilla. She'd come to associate the scent with Chinatsu, as comfort and safety and warmth and _god_, she's so pretty even when she's being mean, that's not _right_...

Growing suddenly quiet, she looked down at her lap, widening her eyes in disbelief and wondering what was wrong with her. Just how _long_ had she been pathetically in love with her best friend?

Remembering herself all at once, she snapped her head back up only for ice-blue orbs to follow the movement, latching onto her own as soon as they reappeared. Chinatsu was watching her closely, with that same furrowed brow and expression from earlier (the one that Akari was growing to realize was more frustration than anger, as well as something else she couldn't quite place but felt sure she'd seen it _somewhere_). The pinkette was resting her chin on her fingertips, studying Akari as if there was some kind of ancient code written across the redhead's face that she wanted desperately to decipher.

Finally, she spoke.

"Akari, I think we need to have a little talk."

* * *

**I have no excuse. It's been break for almost two weeks now (which means I'll have to go back to school in like, three days, and I'm super stressed as usual, nothing new there). I was just hit by a sudden wave of writer's block and this was the soonest I could get anything out… The writer's block is also unfortunately to blame for this relatively uneventful chapter…I am going to try for an exciting one for this next one, though, so please bear with me!**

**For those of you are still reading, thank you for being so patient with me! And thank you, everyone who left reviews! You guys motivated me to finally pick up and continue with this! So please, continue to read and please do leave a review! **


	11. Conflict Resolution (?)

**So this is KIND OF a major chapter, but not really...notes at the end :P I'm sorry in advance xP**

* * *

**Even the Stars Grow Older  
**

**Ten: Conflict Resolution (?)**

* * *

"Okay, so here's the deal," Chinatsu continued, oblivious to the way Akari's heart had halted its already unsteady rhythm in her chest. "I'm not even going to go into how you've been acting all distant recently, even though I have no _idea _why because you won't _tell _me anything," here she fixed Akari with an accusatory glare, and Akari was treated to the odd sensation of feeling both guilty and touched at once, "because this is something…I should have noticed a long time ago." The pinkette's expression turned pained in self-deprecation.

"Um, Chinatsu-chan, I'm really alright, I don't know—"

Chinatsu cut her off with a hand. "No, we're going to talk, and it's going to happen _now_," she said, firmly, and Akari instinctively knew better than to argue. The serious tone was almost alien in her voice, and Akari had to mentally remind herself that this was the same girl who was obsessing over photos of Yui all throughout middle school. "Akari...about that…_boy_, earlier…" She paused. There must have been something truly repulsive about him that Akari hadn't picked up on, because it seemed to physically pain Chinatsu to bring him up. "Do you really…not know _why _he hit on you? I mean…" she corrected, quickly, "not him, necessarily, but...you seemed really surprised that anyone would hit on you. At least, that's what I got from it." She seemed to be choosing her words carefully now, and her brow kept furrowing and unfurrowing, as if she were trying very hard to keep her expression schooled.

Akari blinked. Was that it? "Well," she said, pausing, before deciding it would be best not to skirt around the 'issue' as Chinatsu saw it. "It's not like it's a big deal. I know I tend to blend in with the background, and I'm pretty used to it by now, so I guess I was just surprised. Hehe…" She laughed nervously, because Chinatsu seemed to be losing the battle against whatever emotions she was trying to bite down on. "I mean, it's not that I think I'm ugly, or anything like that, it's just that…I'm not really anything special, you know? I mean, for someone to notice _me_, especially next to Chinatsu-chan…"

Chinatsu actually flinched at Akari's last words, her sharp features contorting as if she'd been slapped. Akari's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth, only to snap it shut again. It seemed that every time she opened her mouth, she was worsening the situation, so she sat back quietly, fighting back anxious tears, waiting for her best friend to reply.

Suddenly, something warm and strong grabbed Akari's hand beneath the table, causing the redhead to jump, nearly disrupting the food spread out in front of the two. Chinatsu was leaning forward, eyes honest and determined, and Akari unconsciously flinched. She felt her hand being squeezed firmly, and realized late that Chinatsu must have claimed it.

"Don't you ever think that, Akari," Chinatsu said, seemingly unaware of (or, more likely, as this was Chinatsu, unconcerned with) the fact that they were in a crowded area. When Akari finally allowed herself to really meet those ice-blue orbs, she found herself quickly forgetting as well, the many voices around them fading to the background. Then again, she'd always been able to pick Chinatsu's voice from a crowd… The grip on her hand tightened, and Akari blinked, once again focused on the pinkette in front of her. "I mean it. It pisses me off!" she growled, losing some of her composure. "Akari, you're so much more than some background scenery. I know we joked about it back in middle school, but we were stupid back then, okay? Hell, some of us are _still _pretty fucking stupid—look at Sakurako, for example, I swear to God I've never met someone more oblivious—"

"Be nice, Chinatsu-chan," Akari said, reflexively. She then congratulated herself for being able to say anything even halfway coherent, as all she could focus on was the feeling of Chinatsu's hands gripping her own and how they, like the rest of Chinatsu, were much stronger than they appeared, and how that sweet scent was invading her mind.

She shook her head, hard, forcing herself to sit up straight and, with no small amount of effort, pull her hands from Chinatsu's. The pinkette moved as if to prevent her from doing so, but Akari was quicker—she needed to keep her head focused for this. "I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry. It isn't that it bothers me when people don't notice me. I'm used to it. Please don't worry about me." Her heart clenched in her chest. If she became a bother to Chinatsu…if Chinatsu came to her senses and realized that she could be friends with someone who was more fun and more in her league…

Chinatsu's newly freed hands met with the table with a bang, and Akari jumped again, this time banging her knees hard on the wooden underside. "No!" Chinatsu snapped. "No, that's not what I mean! I mean…I mean, you're _wrong_, Akari! You're important, and you're _not _invisible—you're cute and gentle and so _nice_, and…and there's no reason why someone _wouldn't _hit on you!"

Her voice had broken halfway through her speech, and something in her mannerism told Akari that Chinatsu hadn't wanted to say that last bit, but had forced herself to anyway. But there was no trace of a lie in her eyes—no trace of anything but complete honesty and determination, and it made Akari's heart leap into her throat and her stomach flip all at once. The pinkette was panting slightly, and her jaw was tight with determination, and suddenly Akari could think about was throwing herself into those arms and burying her face in that fluffy pink hair and never letting go. And she hated herself for it, but she had to know, "Ch-Chinatsu-chan…you…you really think…that?"

Chinatsu sighed through her nose, not in annoyance, but almost in relief, and the anger and frustration seemed to leave her body with her breath. "It's not what I think," she said, cracking a small smile and leaning her head on her palm, elbow balanced in the table. "It's just the truth. But yes, I do. And so should you, okay? I'm actually surprised nobody's hit on you before…" She frowned. "Nobody _has, _right?"

Akari's heart leapt, though she was sure Chinatsu was just being a good friend. "No, never," she replied, flushing. "That's why…I didn't know…I'm still not sure, really. I mean, couldn't he have just liked the outfit?" She glanced down at herself. Kyouko hadn't forced her into anything extravagant this time; it was more of a theme outfit than a costume, and Akari had to admit, she really liked it.

Chinatsu, however, scoffed and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Trust me, it wasn't the outfit he was admiring," she replied, though her voice had grown snarky once again. "By the way…since I guess you wouldn't know, you shouldn't respond to guys like that. They only want one thing." She veritably spat the words out, her knuckles going white around her chopsticks, which were clenched in her fists in what Akari was sure was _not _the proper way to hold them in any region. "You're so nice, I don't want—"

Chinatsu cut herself off, violently stabbing at some beef and shoving it into her mouth, as if to keep herself from continuing in her mini-rant. Akari frowned down at her own food, her chest suddenly feeling hollow as a thought occurred to her.

"You…you didn't…_like_ him, did you, Chinatsu-chan?" she asked quietly, then quickly followed up with, "Because, if you do…" She forced herself to smile. "I'm sure we could find him. And I'm sure he'd fall for you in a heartbeat…" The roller coaster ride that her insides had been going through had suddenly stopped making her feel light-headed, instead bringing nausea. "Anybody would."

To her surprise, Chinatsu snorted, nearly choking on her food. Once she'd swallowed, she burst into laughter. "Geez, Akari, don't do that to me!" she chided after several long moments, still giggling. "Me? _Like_ that tactless buffoon? Please, he used the oldest trick in the book and he wasn't _even _good-looking."

Akari couldn't help but giggle at Chinatsu's brutal honesty. Still… "I just thought…since you seemed so upset about it…"

Chinatsu's laughter rapidly died, and the pinkette's eyes once again turned to shoot daggers at her innocent meal. "I…" she paused, looking like she was trying to think of the right words. Akari frowned—it wasn't like Chinatsu to be so lost for what to say. "I just…" She finally huffed, her fumbling turning to irritation. "I didn't like the way that dumbass was looking at you, like you were an all-you-can-eat buffet, and…well, it's not like you know how to defend yourself against that kind of scum. It pissed me off, that's all." She paused after a moment, cheeks flushing uncharacteristically, as if she were just remembering something. "I…I guess I should've made sure you weren't interested first, though…" she mumbled, averting her eyes. Her fist seemed to clench even tighter around the cheap, disposable chopsticks.

Once again, Akari's chest swelled, and she couldn't hold back the fond smile even as her cheeks darkened. "I don't mind," she said quietly. "It's kind of nice…when you're protective of me." She wanted to hit herself as soon as the words escaped her lips. What, was she not being obvious _enough_?

To her surprise, Chinatsu flushed darker for just a split second. Then the pinkette looked up at her and rolled her eyes playfully. "Geez, Akari, stop saying such embarrassing things," she teased, grinning at the bright blush on her best friend's face. Her mood seemed to have lightened considerably though, and for that, Akari was infinitely grateful, even if it was at her expense.

_Even if this is all we ever are…I think I can be happy, as long as Chinatsu-chan is by my side._

_ But god_, she thought as Chinatsu bounced up and winked at her before flouncing away and pushing her way back through the line to buy a couple puddings, _I wish we were more._

* * *

It was another hour before Kyouko returned and Himawari was able to go after Sakurako.

Searching through the various stalls and crowds, the bluenette chastised herself for running after the blonde at all. Stupid Sakurako was the one who should have been going after her. Really, at least ninety percent of their disagreements stemmed from Sakurako's end, but somehow it always ended in Himawari going to her after she stormed off—Himawari comforting _her_ after one of her tantrums. That, she supposed, was the price she paid for being the mature one. That, and the weight of being completely aware of her feelings and still unable to do anything about it because Sakurako was too thick to recognize her own.

Or at least, so she'd thought. Now it seemed as though perhaps Himawari had read too much into the signs. _Or perhaps, _a sneaky little voice whispered in the back of her head, _you've just been so taken with her that you let yourself assume the feelings were reciprocated. _

Himawari bit her lip, hard, willing herself to keep her composure. How could Sakurako continue to be _so _incredibly thick-headed? After all this time, after all the arguments and insults, how _could_ she think Himawari would still be here if she didn't feel _something_ for the blonde? But that was just it—Sakurako _didn't _think. She never did. That was always Himawari, who had been aware of her own feelings for more than longer back than she could remember. Always Himawari, who wasn't sure how much longer she could stay by Sakurako's side and not be able to touch her, to _hold_ her now that they were older and she wanted (needed) so much more than the shallow pleasure she got from bickering out the UST.

An unruly head of blonde hair became visible, almost as if it were a beacon, shining against the mass of different hair colors in the crowd. "Sakurako…" Himawari reached out, then pulled back as if she'd been burned. She wasn't entirely sure she could touch Sakurako at this point without pulling her into her body and kissing her until she couldn't stand. Even with her superhuman willpower, Himawari was amazed she'd lasted so long, what with puberty having hit her earlier than most, bringing with it an almost unbearable onset of hormones.

"What do you want?"

Sakurako's reply was strangely muffled, as though she were speaking through some sort of filter. She ducked her head, as if to pull away, but Himawari had reached her in another second and pulled her close to avoid getting lost in the crowd. The chestnut-blonde felt her heart speed up, pounding a painful rhythm against her chest.

"Sakurako, I'm sorry," the bluenette said, her voice gentle and somehow unsuited for such a public place. Sakurako kept her head down, reluctant to meet Himawari's eyes, though her current vantage point against her chest wasn't much better. She had managed to pull her arms up protectively around herself just before the bluenette had grabbed her, leaving her with a buffer zone between herself and Himawari's infernal breasts. Even so…Sakurako flushed hotly as she breathed in the scent of Himawari's shampoo; felt the soft orbs pressing firmly against her forearms. "I didn't mean that..."

"Then why did you say it?" Sakurako muttered before she could stop herself. For a moment she thought Himawari might not have heard her over the dull roar of the crowd around them, but then strong arms tightened subtly around her waist, and Himawari pulled her gently out of the middle of the stream of people walking up and down the aisles. They somehow managed to find a bench—or, rather, Himawari did—and sat down, Himawari's arm falling limply to her lap.

"I just…" The bluenette paused, frowning. Sakurako watched her out of the corner of her eye, instantly huffing and turning away when Himawari looked back at her. Himawari sighed heavily. Sakurako was so thick-headed; she could try a roundabout answer, but that had just as high a chance of pissing the blonde off even more as it did confusing her into silence. And given Sakurako's current mood… Long, slender fingers twined together and fumbled nervously in her lap. "I suppose…I said it because I was jealous."

And there it was. More than ten years of building belligerent sexual tension all leading up to a single, anti-climactic confession. Himawari couldn't believe she'd let it come to this, but at least Sakurako knew. Even Sakurako could put the pieces together from there. Even Sakurako couldn't possibly misinterpret…

"Wait, _you _were _jealous_?"

And she'd practically screamed it, of course. Himawari cringed, but nodded once, minutely, averting her gaze, cheeks flushing a pretty magenta. "I…yes. The way you talk about her…"

"You mean, _you_ like _Kyouko-senpai_?!"

A vein popped in Himawari's forehead.

_Not again._

_We're not doing this roundabout _again.

_Enough._

"I- I mean," Sakurako was spluttering now, all limbs and mouth, like a fish out of water, "You can't…but I guess…I mean, it's not like I care, but you should—"

And then, very possibly for the first time in her life, Sakurako was speechless.

Actually, it was more like the words had been stolen straight from her throat. One moment she'd been floundering for words, the next, she'd felt long, slender fingers threading through her messy hair to cup the back of her head, and then Himawari had just leaned over and kissed her.

Hard.

_On the lips_.

And then Sakurako stopped thinking entirely.

* * *

**AUGH. Just…AUGH.**

**I know it's anti-climactic. I'msorryI'msorryI'msorryI'msorry! I suck at writing big climactic scenes…I'm sorry :( But obviously there's more to come. I'm sorry for not making the Akari/Chinatsu climax a lot of you wanted…I just felt that it was important for Chinatsu to address Akari's self-esteem issues so there could be more character development…anyway, thank you for all your support and encouragement! Please remember to review, and I will have the next chapter up as soon as I can. Unless of course this chapter has failed so miserably that you're calling it quits on this story; I know a lot of you wanted something bigger or more groundbreaking. I'm sorry D: Next up will be Sakurako's reaction and more Akari/Chinatsu.**

**A/N: By the way, please note that for all this chapter is, it was not rushed; the Himawari/Sakurako bit will be continued in the next chapter. I just didn't see a way to continue it without starting a new chapter, and by itself it was too short...anyway, please don't think I'm just trying to get things finished quickly. This scene was meant to be short to add to the effect I'm trying for. That being said, that doesn't mean it's perfect, or even good. Please let me know what you think in the review section :)**


	12. A Very Tsundere Confession

**I'm so sorry about the delay, guys—see my end notes for more details about that. Besides that, I hope some of you are still reading, and please leave a review! This chapter was hard for me to get right, but I really did try, I promise. So please let me know what you think and please look forward to next chapter after this :)**

* * *

**Even the Stars Grow Older**

**Eleven: A Very Tsundere Confession**

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Silence.

Absolute, utter _silence._

There were a lot of things that Ayano had come to expect of Sakurako and Himawari in their substantial time spent as friends. Silence, however, was one of the very few things she _didn't._

She chanced a glance in the rearview mirror and was met by a sight that just seemed…reversed, somehow. Sakurako was staring out the window, her jaw taught and her eyes glazed over. Next to her, Himawari sat with her hands curled in her lap, her fingers twitching, the corner of her full lips caught on her teeth. Every so often, the latter would sneak a glance at the former, just for an instant, but the look in her eyes, open and afraid, as though she were one wrong move away from being utterly _devastated_... It worried the purple-haired kaichou.

The situation in Yui's beat up station wagon was slightly different, but not entirely unlike the other.

Chinatsu was her usual catty, talkative self as she leaned forward in her seat, spurred into an argument with Kyouko due to the blonde's baiting (really, Yui thought, after four years, you'd think she might have learned to ignore it). Beside her, Akari was quiet. This wasn't unusual in and of itself; Akari was often content to sit back and let Chinatsu lead, only jumping in once in a while to give an opinion, or to stop the pinkette from saying something particularly mean. But today…today her silence seemed different, more…nervous.

And if that wasn't enough reasoning, there was also the fact that she had been wearing an almost non-stop blush ever since they met up again after the sales had ended. It was so consistent that Yui had almost mistaken it for a sunburn, but then there was her behavior… It seemed that the redhead was doing any and everything in her power to avoid meeting Chinatsu's gaze—or at least, as much as she could without the latter growing suspicious. On the occasions she failed, her blush seemed to grow darker, and she would stutter out a response if asked for her input.

Perhaps the oddest thing about the way Akari was acting was that despite her strange behavior, she seemed genuinely _happy_. Through the rearview mirror, Yui's eyes were drawn to Chinatsu's left hand, which was resting casually on Akari's right leg, her fingers tapping restlessly, the rhythm speeding up with her temper. It wasn't abnormal for Chinatsu to keep some kind of physical contact with those around her, particularly Akari, but recently, particularly on this trip, it seemed as though the pinkette was _always _in some kind of contact with the redhead.

She was acting more protective than usual as well; Yui had spotted her, on two separate occasions just that day, practically growling at a couple of poor souls who dared to stop Akari and compliment her on the outfit Kyouko had designed for her. On one occasion, Yui had been afraid that Chinatsu was actually going to spit _venom_ at some sleazy, acne-ridden twenty-something who'd looked the redhead up and down. The pinkette had let Akari pass, making up some excuse about looking at a booth they'd passed, before rounding on the young man. Yui hadn't been able to hear anything, thanks to the incessant roaring of the crowd, but there had been a lot of sneering, chest-poking and standing on tip-toe (to make herself more threatening, Yui assumed—sometimes she wondered whether Chinatsu was descended from some kind of feline ancestor), and the guilty party had walked away looking like he was about to wet himself. Then Chinatsu had bounced back over to Akari, looping their arms and pulling the shorter girl to her, as if nothing had happened.

This sort of behavior coming from Chinatsu wasn't entirely alien, particularly to Yui—back in middle school, she hadn't above physical violence whenever anyone got too close to Yui. But something about this time was different; for one thing, Chinatsu clearly hadn't wanted Akari to see her, whereas with Yui, it hadn't mattered who was around. For another, while Chinatsu had clung to Yui like a ragdoll, the contact she kept with Akari was much more casual, and if anything, protective as opposed to clingy.

As for Akari…well, Akari somehow seemed as though she was both enjoying the contact and resisting the urge to pull away. The redhead couldn't seem to keep her eyes off of the hand resting on her thigh, but at the same time, it seemed to be hurting her to look at it.

Yui had to look away at this point, because she was driving and none of this odd behavior would matter if they were all dead.

Still…something had changed. Chinatsu was, for all intents and purposes, acting fairly normal. Then again, Chinatsu had proven her adaptability time and time again, beginning with her unorthodox introduction to the Amusement Club back in junior high. However, Akari, who was less so, and also more prone to be the victim of circumstances rather than the cause (another reason Chinatsu's behavior was somewhat unreliable) was acting very strangely indeed.

* * *

"…Sakurako…?"

Silence.

A beat.

"Sakurako, please…"

The silence continued, seeming to stretch on for hours as Himawari stared tearfully at her best friend (or, rather, the side of her face, as Sakurako was refusing to look at her). The bluenette bit her lip, swallowing back the sob that was begging to exit her throat. It was like trying to swallow a large rock.

"Sa—" Her voice broke sharply, and she snapped both her jaws and her eyes shut, forcing back the tears.

Sakurako flinched, just slightly.

"Sakurako," Himawari tried again, with more certainty. "Sakurako, if you don't…well, I suppose you've made your opinion fairly clear by this point, so…" She paused, looking down at her hands twisting themselves into knots in her lap. "I…it doesn't have to mean anything, I…"

"It doesn't?"

The sudden utterance both shocked and pierced Himawari to the core, and she hesitated for just a split second. Then, making her mind up just as quickly, lest the pause cost her the blonde's friendship as well (and she didn't know if her heart could handle losing Sakurako two ways in less than two hours), she said, "No. It…it doesn't."

To her surprise, Sakurako's hands, already clenched into fists, tightened, her arms growing stiff at her sides. "Right," the blonde said, harshly. "Of course it doesn't mean anything. You just wanted to shut me up and found a new way of doing it, yeah?"

Himawari blinked. She was silent for almost a full minute before she opened her mouth to respond. "What?"

Sakurako whirled on her, eyes red and tear-clogged. "You're always telling me how thoughtless _I _am, but what about _you_? You didn't stop to think that maybe _kissing me _was taking it a step too far? After all that talk about Kyouko-senpai!"

"Augh!" Himawari threw her hands in the air, running them through her hair almost frantically. "After all that, you _still—_Sakurako, I didn't kiss you to _shut you up_!" She had to consciously force herself from continuing along the lines of 'but if I'd known it would work so well, I would have done it years ago'. Despite her annoyance, the fight that would have started would go on all night and she wanted to sort this out _now_.

Sakurako scoffed. "Really?" she asked, in a tone that implied it wasn't a question at all. "Then why _did _you?"

"Because you were being an idiot!"

"Ha! I'm _always _an idiot! Why was this time any different?!"

Not pausing to contemplate how utterly ridiculous this conversation had gotten, Himawari shot back, "Because I've wanted to do that since junior high and I couldn't help it! It's not my fault you're too much of an _idiot _to notice!"

This time, it was Sakurako's turn to blink in shock. "So…you _don't _like Kyouko-senpai?"

"Of course I—" Himawari started, her temper flaring even hotter, before she caught the look on Sakuruako's face. Her amber eyes, once narrowed in anger and what Himawari was now certain had been hurt, were now wide and full of trepidation. One hand gripped the bedspread beneath the blonde tightly, while the other had come to rest, seemingly subconsciously, over her heart, fingers grabbing for something that wasn't there. "I…no," she finished simply, massaging her eyes with her fingers before pulling her hand away to look Sakurako dead in the eyes. "I don't."

"You…_meant_ it?"

Himawari sighed, falling to her knees in front of Sakurako and, taking a blind leap of faith, rested her arms atop Sakurako's legs, her chin atop them so that she was looking up at the girl. "Of course I mean it, Sakurako," she said, reaching up to tuck a lock of dirty blonde hair behind Sakurako's ear. The other girl flushed fire engine red, but didn't move away. The bluenette chuckled softly, burying her face in her arms so that Sakurako was just looking at an expanse of blue hair. "Trust you to turn a…a love confession into an argument," she said, her words muffled by her arms. Then she looked back up, and her eyes were full of an emotion Sakurako didn't recognize—it was alien, and yet achingly familiar, and it made her heart skip a beat. "Did you really have _no_ idea?"

Sakurako mumbled something incoherent.

"Sakurako…I've felt this way about you for years, ever since junior high," Himawari continued, though her mind was begging her mouth to shut up. "If you don't believe _me_, then ask one of the others—as I understand it, we've been getting less and less subtle with time."

"Yeah right, I'm annoying and stupid, why would you want to be with someone like me?" came the muttered response, which made Himawari frown and open her mouth to reply. Then Sakurako choked, quite possibly on her own saliva. "And did you just say _we_? Last I checked, _you _were the one all over _me _back there?"

Himawari huffed and pushed back onto her heels, standing up again. Her self-consciousness levels were nearly at their breaking point, but she forced herself to draw up the very last of her reserves—she had nothing left to lose now, and she wasn't going down without a fight. "You heard me, I said _we_," she replied, her voice stronger now. She stepped forward, into Sakurako's personal space, and her confidence was boosted slightly upon seeing the blonde's wide-eyed reaction to being so near the bluenette's chest. Then she leaned down so that she was face to face with Sakurako, arms still folded over her chest. "You claim to be unable to bear spending time with me, but throw jealous fits when I spend time with anyone else. You hate the fact that we've been stuck together since preschool, but give me the cold shoulder for a week when you find out I'm taking different classes. You hate my…my breasts, but take every opportunity to touch them, and I've _caught _you staring when you think I'm not looking—speaking of which, my eyes are up _here_," she finished smugly as Sakurako's eyes darted back up to her own.

The blonde floundered, mouth opening and closing repeatedly for a long moment, before she finally snapped her jaw shut and her eyes darted to the wall, avoiding Himawari's.

"And Sakurako…"

Sakurako flinched, expecting more evidence to be thrown in her face, but was instead met with not words, but a soft, warm hand gently guiding her chin until she was forced to look in the blunette's eyes. Before she could protest or look away once again, Himawari's face was incredibly close, and she closed her eyes, breath catching in her chest…only to feel a warm, firm pressure against her forehead. She opened her eyes, confused (and maybe just a little bit disappointed), eyes following Himawari as she pulled back. The bluenette's thumb was now absently stroking Sakurako's cheek as its owner watched her with impossible fondness.

"You are not stupid," she said, her voice gentle, but at the same time firm. "I won't deny that you can be _incredibly_ annoying at times," Sakurako's face twisted in a scowl, which only served to make Himawari's eyes crinkle in amusement, "but that's what makes you Sakurako. And I fell I love with _you_, Sakurako. Not you on your best behavior or when you're proving how smart you really are when you want to be, but _you_. Just…_you. _I…I _like _taking care of you, and I _like _helping you with your homework. I just wish you'd be a little less argumentative all the time and just _let _me love you."

"Himawari…" Sakurako didn't know what to say. She honestly didn't. She licked her lips nervously, and it was only thanks to her heightened state of focus that she saw Himawari's eyes dart downward for just a millisecond. And it was in that millisecond that she realized Himawari was telling the truth. It didn't matter that Sakurako didn't know what to say, or that she couldn't wrap her head around any of this yet, let alone the latent, unnamed feelings she'd held for years now exploding inside her own chest. All that mattered was that Himawari was here, inches from her, telling her without a second's hesitation that she _loved _her, just for being Sakurako.

All this had, of course, flown through her mind in one single moment of realization, and Sakurako snapped back to reality before Himawari had. In that split second that Himawari was distracted, Sakurako threw her arms around the bluenette's neck and launched herself up from her position on the hotel bed, into Himawari's arms, eliciting a soft _oomph _from the other girl. Still, Himawari caught her, preventing the two of them from toppling over backwards, and took a moment to catch her breath, Sakurako's face buried in her neck.

Meanwhile, Sakurako's mind was a mess of jumbled thoughts and emotions as she clung to Himawari. The warmth, the softness, the _looks_, the fullness, the _fear_…but more than anything, she felt incredibly and absolutely safe in Himawari's arms. Her stomach felt like it was full of a thousand butterflies, and it was jumping as though she was going to be sick, but it a _good _way, and Sakurako had _no idea _what to do or what was going to happen. She just knew that Himawari holding her like this felt good—safe, warm, _close_—so holding her tighter must feel better.

And so Sakurako tightened her arms around Himawari's neck, eliciting a quiet gasp from the bluenette, who led them back over to the bed and maneuvered so that they were both sitting down against the pillows.

Himawari knew Sakurako better than anything—better even, if possible, than herself, and she knew that Sakurako was nowhere near the point Himawari herself was. The blonde was more than likely confused and, if Himawari dared to hope that her love was reciprocated, completely unaware of what her feelings had meant. Despite this, Sakurako didn't seem to want to let _go_, and maneuvered herself right into Himawari's lap the second the latter had finally gotten the both of them settled. Himawari bit back another gasp, closing her eyes and swallowing hard. Sakurako didn't mean it—she had no idea what she did to her, Himawari was certain—but if things kept up like this, the more mature, _significantly_ more aware of her own feelings Himawari wasn't sure she would last the night.

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**BLAH. Not sure about this, but that's what I get for waiting several months in between chapters. Speaking of, I'm so sorry about the hiatus! You guys are all so incredibly supportive of this story and of me, and you deserve way better than that! I got so caught up in my externship and debating if the career was right for me and switching between depression/anxiety meds that I just completely let the story slip. But I'm in a slightly more stable point in my life, so I decided to try to start up again, and I hope you guys can forgive me, or at least continue to enjoy the story as you had been. I was prompted to start again NOW when I looked for YuruYuri fanfic to READ and the whole first page was like a page out of my Spanish textbook. I'm sure they're great stories, but even though I took advanced Spanish back in high school, the most I know now is "Donde esta la bibliotecha?" and "Puedo ir al bano, por favor?". So yeah. Got frustrated, wrote this.**

**Please leave a review! I really tried with this chapter—it was always going to be a hard one to write, which is my own fault for drawing everything out for so long. I don't mind going the long route, but geez, the PRESSURE :P**


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